Page 9 of Wyoming Bodyguard (Sunrise Security #1)

A nger heated Lily’s blood. She stormed passed Madden and forced her way out of the shed. Fresh air hit her face and she took two deep breaths through her nose, trying to calm her racing heart.

But her heart refused to slow.

Madden stepped out behind her.

She whirled around to face him. “I can’t believe someone is storing their drugs in our shed. And it’s not like it was a couple of kids sneaking out here for a joint or some booze. That was…well, to be totally honest I don’t know what it was, but it looked scary as hell to me.”

“Methamphetamines.” He swept his cowboy hat off his head and wiped his forearm over his brow. “Serious drugs. Any idea who it belongs to?”

Her jaw dropped. “Are you kidding me? Does it look like I expected to find that?”

He shook his head and replaced his hat. “No, but you know who spends time out here. Who might have put the drugs inside the shed.”

“No one who works here is doing meth. Or selling it. Or storing it.” Even as the words came out of her mouth, she cringed. Someone had to put the drugs there. “It has to be someone from town.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

She anchored her fists on her hips. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“All possibilities need exploring, that’s all. Even if they make you uncomfortable.”

The hesitant look in his eyes turned her stomach. “What are you implying?” she asked, bracing herself for his answer.

Scrunching his nose, he dropped his gaze to the ground. “Someone wants your dad dead. Could the reason be drug related?”

Anger morphed into outrage, but she counted to ten before snapping out the first thought that came to her mind.

“My dad would never have anything to do with drugs.” Her voice was as slow and steady as the stream gurgling on the other side of the meadow, though the viciousness of unseen rapids brewed underneath.

“I’m not saying he does,” Madden said, lifting his palms. “But there could be a different connection. Unfortunately, we can’t ask him about it. Maybe there’s something in the house that could tell us more.”

“Or before I invade my father’s privacy, we ask Charlie and Daniel. Maybe they know something.”

“We could,” he said, drawing out each syllable in a way that told her that he didn’t like her suggestion.

“But if one of them is involved with whatever the hell is going on, it might be wise to keep them in the dark a little. Leave the drugs where they are so as not to raise suspicions to whoever put them there.”

“What about the police? Should we tell them what we found?”

He scratched his chin. “Probably. I’ll get ahold of the sheriff’s department. See what they say. But until then we can be proactive and see if there’s anything else in the house.”

His logic made her shove aside the emotional turmoil fighting to make her decisions. “Okay. Let’s head back.”

Hopping onto Queenie’s back, she urged the horse into a canter and took off for the house.

The wind cooled her skin. Strands of long hair whipped across her face.

Fleeting trickles of joy waded through the muck weighing her down.

For a few minutes, she gave into the joy, gave into the flight on top of Queenie’s back until the cabin came into view.

She slowed the horse and walked her back to the barn. By the time Madden led Ace into his stall, she had Queenie settled and was ready to tackle her assignment. No matter how difficult.

“I want to be alone while going through Dad’s things,” she said. “Pawing through his personal items doesn’t feel right, but having someone else watching while I do it is a whole other level of violation. I’ll be quick, and I promise to tell you if I find anything suspicious.”

Nodding, he unbuckled the cinch strap and slid the brown leather saddle and saddle pad off Ace’s back. “Understandable. I’d like to at least be close by, just in case.”

She almost asked in case of what, but she understood the direction his mind took. “I’ll get started while you finish cooling down Ace. Shouldn’t take me long.”

His clenched jaw told her that he didn’t like her plan, but she didn’t need his permission. Yes, she wanted him to keep her safe and help solve this case. She hadn’t signed up for a babysitter to stand guard twenty-four hours a day.

Besides, he’d gotten under her skin in a way she’d never anticipated in a short amount of time. A little space from Madden was what she needed to help get her head on straight.

Determined to get her unsavory task over with as soon as possible, she hurried inside and went straight to her father’s bedroom.

She flipped on the light and sadness pressed against her lungs.

The king-size bed was neatly made. Not even a single wrinkle marred the deep blue comforter that matched the walls.

The book he’d been reading lay opened on his nightstand with his reading glasses beside it.

A half-filled glass of water waited to be either used or taken to the kitchen.

Would he ever make it home? Would he finish the mystery that had captured his attention or wear the glasses again—the round ones with the thick black frames she always teased him about?

No, she couldn’t stand there and think the worst. Hell, she couldn’t think about her father’s health at all right now. Not if she was going to snoop through his things then get the hell out of there.

Ignoring the sinking feeling in her gut, she started with the tall dresser in the corner.

She took great care as she methodically searched each drawer until she was certain nothing was hidden inside.

She moved robotically through the rest of the room, next tackling the closet and nightstands.

Searching under the bed and scouring every inch of the en suite bathroom.

A soft knock on the door frame brought her back into the bedroom. Madden stood in the hallway, his thumb tucked into the front pocket of his jeans and his ever-present cowboy hat in his free hand. “You doing okay?”

“Not really, but I haven’t found anything out of the ordinary.

” And for that she was grateful. Each new spot she searched brought fear of not only discovering something tying her father to drug use, but a whole host of other horrors a daughter might uncover about her father she had no use knowing.

She sighed, rounding the bed to run her fingertip along the cover of his book.

“It’s weird being in here without him. Seeing his things and not knowing if he’ll ever be back in this room. ”

“I’m sure he’ll be back in no time.” Madden walked to her side and stared down at the nightstand. “He’s a reader?”

She grinned. “Kind of. My mom was the one who always had a book in her hand. He used to tell her to get her nose out of the pages and enjoy the real world. The last year or so he’s started reading more.

I’d like to think it makes him feel closer to my mom.

” She picked up the book, and a piece of paper fluttered from the pages and onto the floor.

“You better not lose his place.” Madden scooped the paper and frowned.

“What is it?” she asked, glancing at the makeshift bookmark.

He lifted the sheet for her to see. “Looks like he was taking notes that had nothing to do with the book. Mostly numbers. Big numbers. But that’s not all.”

She read the scribbled words written in her father’s familiar hand and gasped.

Need to pay or else.

* * *

Madden disconnected his call with Reid and stared down at Lily, who sat in the middle of the floor of her father’s office. A pile of papers surrounded her, and a pronounced frown pulled down her pouty lips.

He hated that look. Hated the aura of sadness and desperation that clung to her like a second skin. He wanted the Lily he’d seen while she rode Queenie. Carefree and laughing. Hair blowing all around her and no thought to anything beyond the simple pleasure of riding her horse.

Glancing up, she hoisted her hands filled with paperwork in the air.

“This is going to take forever. There’s so much information in these pages.

I need to file everything back in its place, but I can’t leave one sheet unturned.

Who knows what kind of information might be on it?

” She tossed the paper back on the floor and sighed. “How was your call?”

“Reid’s on his way. He’ll install the cameras so I can help you.” He waded through the mess and perched on the edge of the desk. “Talked to dispatch at the sheriff’s department. They’re sending out a deputy to look at the shed.”

“Did you tell them what we found in his book?”

He nodded.

“Nothing makes sense anymore. This is all so overwhelming.” She dropped her chin, and a defeated air wrapped around her like a cloak.

He clapped his hands, the sound loud and a bit abrasive in the confined room, then rubbed his palms together. “Let’s see how we can lighten the load a little.”

She offered him a small, sad smile. “I don’t see how that’s even possible.”

“We’ll take things one task at a time, starting here.” He reached for her with an outstretched arm. She nestled her palm in his, and an intense heat shot up his arm and settled in his core. Tingles of excitement battled against the voice of logic telling him to keep his distance.

Clearing his throat, he tugged her to her feet and severed the connection. Time to focus solely on the problems at hand and not the way his body reacted to her simplest touch. “You’re right. We do want to look at everything in the office, but we don’t have to read every single printout right away.”

Her eyes were wide as she stared at him, her lips slightly parted, and all he could wonder was what she would taste like.

“But we might miss something,” she said, snapping him back to the moment. “Hell, you saw how close I was to missing the message my dad left in his book.”

“True, but someone already went through all this.” He flicked his wrist to indicate the mess waiting for them on the floor.

“If the person who broke into your house found anything useful, they probably would have taken it with them. Not left it on the floor. We can glance at everything as we replace it, but no need to scrutinize it too closely. If we miss something, we can always comb back through.”

“That’s actually brilliant.”

He grinned. “I have my moments.”

She rolled her eyes. “Even a broken clock’s right twice a day.”

Now it was his turn to roll his eyes. “All right, Grandma. Where do you want everything?”

“Most of this needs to be filed in the cabinet. Each drawer is labeled, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find the right spot. I’ll sift through the paperwork and put it in piles, then you can find the right folder. Sound good?”

“Absolutely.”

He stayed glued to his spot on the desk as she shuffled through the mess, making orderly piles.

Concentration made a tiny crease between her eyebrows. She scanned every item before finding the right place for it. “Nothing of interest so far.”

“Not surprised. My guess is we’ll find more information on the computer. It’s a good thing your father still has such an old one. The burglar probably expected a laptop, something smaller they could take with them. A giant monitor and tower from the 1980s probably weren’t expected.”

She snorted out a laugh. “It’s not that old. But I guess I should be grateful my dad clings to his ways and has refused to upgrade the technology around here.”

“Do you have the passwords to get into this thing?” He sank onto the leather chair in front of the monitor and wiggled the mouse on the black pad to bring the screen to life.

Rounding the corner of the desk, Lily slid into the tiny space between Madden and the desk to study the screen. “No, but it can’t be that hard to figure out. Most likely someone’s birthday or something simple like 1, 2, 3, 4.”

“Man, our fathers might be more alike than either one of them ever realized.”

She shot him a grin that melted his bones. “You’re probably right. Two stubborn old men who always think they’re right. Just like their children.”

She had to lean across him to reach the keyboard. Her fingers flew across the keys, but the password she’d guessed wasn’t correct.

She tried again, and he prayed she was wrong. As much as they needed to get into the computer, her body so close to his spiked his blood pressure. He breathed in her scent, the hay and subtle smell of the horses still on her skin, but the floral notes from her shampoo remained.

“Got it. Mom’s birthday.” She spun around, and excitement danced in her eyes. She raised her fists in exaggerated celebration then braced her forearm on the side of the chair.

She was close. So close. The air around them buzzed with electricity. Charged by some unknown force he couldn’t stop. He should move. Jump out of the chair and put some distance between them.

But he couldn’t.

Her gaze locked on his and her eyes widened for a beat.

He swallowed hard. His mouth dry. He wet his lips with his tongue, and the flick of her gaze to his mouth was like throwing gasoline on a fire.

Instinct took over. He touched his mouth to hers. Slowly. Softly.

She moaned and moved her lips against his.

The need to touch her had him cupping her jaw with his palm, his other hand dipping along her side. Her skin was so soft, her lips so tender. Desire flared to life inside him, so hot and raw it was almost blinding.

The doorbell rang, breaking the magic of the moment, and Lily pulled away. She brought her fingertips to her mouth and straightened. “I…we shouldn’t…”

The bell rang again.

He cleared his throat and shot to his feet. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I’ll get the door. It’s probably Reid. I’ll let him know where to place the cameras.”

He didn’t wait to hear any more of her regrets before storming out of the office. He didn’t want to listen to all the reasons she wanted him not to kiss her. Hell, they were probably the same reasons swimming around his head.

Because as attractive as Lily was, she was his client and a woman he’d agreed to protect. The last thing she needed was to add more confusion to her already precarious situation. Things between them may have gone from stormy to a light drizzle, but she’d made it clear what she thought of him.

He might be okay with constantly proving himself to the townspeople to build his business, but he wouldn’t grovel to a woman who’d made him feel like crap the last couple of years. Even if she’d just given him the best damn kiss of his life.