A Bride By Summer: The Texas Ranger's Bride / From Best Friend to Bride / Once Upon a Bride

“In the kitchen, darling.”

Kellie wheeled around and waved to Cy. He waved back and drove off. She stared after him, wishing she didn’t feel strange when his car disappeared. As if she’d lost something.

Her mom gave her a hug. “You’re back earlier than I would have expected.”

She took a deep breath. “Cy accomplished what he needed. Where’s dad?”

“He’s out in the pasture, but he’ll be back by six.”

“Then I’ll have enough time to do some training drills with Trixie before dinner.”

Her mother followed her up the stairs to her old bedroom. “What happened today?”

Kellie walked over to the dresser where she kept her older clothes and pulled out a top and some jeans. “He found out how the stalker got my cell-phone number.” While she changed outfits, she told her mom everything. “He’s so amazing, I couldn’t believe it. Talk about methodical. His mind works differently than the average person’s.

“I found out his parents wanted him to go into law, but he broke his engagement to this girl and left college to join the Austin police department. He knew what he wanted and went after it. Now he’s a Texas Ranger.” She stared at her mom. “He can be formidable, but it’s cloaked in sophistication. He told me he was going to catch this stalker.”

Her mother eyed her pensively. “You believe in him.”

“Utterly. He’s incredible. I’ve never met anyone like him.”

“No. Neither have I. Your cousin wants to hear all about him.”

Kellie nodded. “I’ll call her tonight when I get back to the town house. Has anyone else phoned?”

“Yes. Besides many of your friends, news of your marriage has prompted the Statesman and the Chronicle to get in touch with you for a story and a photo op. Even Tammy White from Hill Country Cowboy Radio is asking for another interview. She said you were a dark horse for pretending that you didn’t know Cyril Vance when you were already married to the gorgeous Texas Ranger.”

Heat crept into her face. “What did you tell everyone?”

“That you’d get in touch with them when you had time.”

“Thanks, Mom. You’re an angel.” She pulled on a pair of cowboy boots she kept in her closet. “I’ve got to get out there so Trixie won’t think I’ve abandoned her. See you in a little while.”

She flew out of the room and down the stairs. Once she left the house, she ran all the way to the barn. But her thoughts weren’t on Trixie. They were concentrated on the man who’d be at the town house later tonight to let her in. She found she was breathless just thinking about it.

Chapter Five (#uad94e372-a267-56c2-801d-4b5cb3f10f14)

Pleased to discover that Vic was already at the town house, Cy drove into the garage, anxious for them to share information. His friend was dressed in the roofer uniform he’d worn the other day. He’d parked the roofing truck near the end of the alley.

“You got back earlier than I’d thought,” Vic said as Cy entered the kitchen.

“That’s because I found the information I wanted.” He removed his jacket and tie and laid them over one of the chair backs, then he grabbed a soda from the fridge. “Do you want a cola?”

“Sure.” They both took a long drink. “I brought Kellie’s phone back, but she’ll have to wait for her laptop,” Vic informed him.

He saw it lying on the table. “Good. She’ll be glad to have it.” Cy reached for it and checked the messages. The stalker had sent three more. He put on the speakerphone so Vic could hear them, too. It was more of the same enraged vitriol.

Cy swallowed more of his drink. “I have news. Kellie’s friend put her cell-phone number in the WPR Association’s database. After some searching I discovered that a Denny Denham worked for Standard Computer Services as a tech in Colorado Springs starting in April of this year. He was called out on a problem at WPRA and signed the work order June 20. After that, he quit his job on the excuse he needed to be with his sick mother in Michigan.”

Vic’s whistle sang throughout the kitchen. “I talked to Rafe. Get this. He said the voice on Kellie’s phone meets the criteria for a person from Virginia Beach or Charleston, South Carolina.”

“A long way from Texas,” Cy mused aloud. “Charleston’s the place where one of the victims was killed.”

“Yup. The minute I heard that, I started a search of all identical twin boys born in both the Virginia Beach area and the Charleston area over the time period I’ve estimated. I’m waiting for them to get back to me.”

“You do great work. At this point I’m wondering where these killers saw Kellie and decided to target her. Until now they’ve operated in the other half of the US.”

“You’ll figure it out. In the meantime Stan told me that he couldn’t get a good read on the half fingerprint from the garage-door pad.”

Cy’s eyes closed for a minute. “That was a long shot. Did the woman show up at the mailbox today?”

“No. Nothing went on around the town house. It’s a waiting game now.”

“I’m pretty sure he’ll break in one of these nights, possibly even tonight after he sees Kellie’s parents drop her off. I’ll be waiting for him.”

“Or them,” Vic added. “The crew will cover the front of the condo. I’ll be out in back.”

“Any news on the IP address of the email sent to Kellie?”

Vic shook his head. “Janene’s still working on the source. Tor hidden services mask their locations behind layers of routing. But she got into a site called ‘hangman’ and discovered the owner had left the administrative account open with no password. She logged in and is still digging around. As soon as I hear from her, I’ll let you know.”

“Good.” Cy reached into his pocket and pulled out the paper from the computer services company. “This is the application the stalker filled out to get hired for work at the computer company.”

They sat down at the table to study it. Cy let out a harsh laugh. “Look at that reference. As I told Kellie, it’s full of lies. Two years at another computer company in Omaha, Nebraska, before he moved to Colorado Springs?”

“I’ll call the number and see who answers.” Vic pulled out his cell phone and tried it, then put the phone to Cy’s ear. “You may have reached this recording in error. You can try again or call your operator.” Vic hung up.

Cy rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. “No doubt he used his brother, who set up a phony address and phone to send the referral. These killers get around, Vic. They’ve got money to operate. Most likely smash-and-grab stuff, unless they’re living off a family death benefit of some kind. I’ll email this to the agents on the East Coast.”

“Depending on what goes on here tonight, I’ll track things down tomorrow.” Vic checked his watch. “Tell you what. I’m going to leave to get me a bite to eat. But I’ll let you know when I’m back for the rest of the night.”

“I can’t do this without you.” Cy walked him to the back door. After Vic left, he phoned TJ to check in and catch him up on the latest.

“If two of them break in, you may need more backup.”

“Vic and the crew have us covered.”

“I’ll put two more Rangers on alert anyway,” his boss said before Cy heard the click.

A second later his phone rang. The caller ID said Nadine, Kellie’s mother. He picked up. “Kellie?”

“Hi.” The small tremor in her voice brought out his protective instincts.

“Is all well with you and your horses?”

“They’re in fine form.” She’d ignored his question about herself. The tension had to be getting to her. “I just wanted you to know my parents are driving me home now. We should be there in five minutes.”

“Good. Before you come in the house, check your mailbox.”