Cowboy Fever. Joanna Wayne

and peeked out at him. “What’s wrong?”

      “You left your computer in the truck. I brought it back to you.”

      She opened the door the rest of the way, then reached up and dislodged a leaf from his hair. “You’re out of breath. Where have you been?”

      “Chasing a man from your yard.”

      “What?”

      “I spotted someone at your front window when I drove up. I chased him but he got away.”

      “The man who stole my car.” Her voice was shaky.

      “That would be my guess.”

      Color drained from her face. She took a deep breath and released it slowly. “I didn’t mean to drag you into this.”

      “Best I remember, I came barging into it.”

      “So you did. Do you mind coming in while I call the cops?”

      “What will your boyfriend say about that?”

      “There is no boyfriend.”

      So her roommate was female or platonic. More relieved than he should be, Dakota stamped the dirt from his shoes and followed Viviana inside.

      Viviana carefully locked the dead bolt behind Dakota. Twice tonight, he’d appeared just in time to save her from some depraved lunatic.

      But right now, even that wasn’t the worst of her problems. She’d known for seven months that she had to face Dakota again eventually. She’d tried to convince herself that she’d be able to look him in the eye and explain everything without her emotions billowing out of control.

      But the second she’d heard his voice tonight, those illusions had vanished.

      “You need to call the cops or your friendly detective right away,” Dakota said. “The man could still be in the neighborhood and if they act fast they may be able to apprehend him.”

      “I will, but lower your voice and come with me to the kitchen.”

      “Why are we whispering?”

      “Someone’s asleep upstairs. There’s an ice pack in the freezer.” She opened a drawer, took out a dish towel and tossed it to him. “Wrap it in this and apply it to your shoulder.”

      “Bourbon would be better.”

      She opened the door to the cabinet where she kept her meager supply of liquor while she punched 911 into her cell phone. She was tempted to call Cortez again, but it was no use waking him in the middle of the night when there was little he could do at this point.

      The 911 operator took her information.

      “Are you certain you’re not in any immediate danger?” the operator asked.

      “I’m not certain, but the intruder appears to be gone.”

      “Stay on the line while I alert the police.” The operator was back in under a minute. “An officer will be there within the next half hour. In the meantime, stay inside with your doors locked. If your situation changes and you feel you’re in immediate danger, call 911 again.”

      “Did you stress to the police that this is likely the same man who stole my car earlier this evening?” Viviana asked.

      “I made them aware of the circumstances.”

      “Thanks.”

      Which meant there was nothing to do but wait for the cops.

      But at least that would give her a few minutes to clear her head and figure out how to handle Dakota.

       Chapter Five

      Pain was kicking in big-time. Dakota took a small bottle of aspirin from his shirt pocket and shook a few tablets into his hand.

      “Meds and alcohol don’t mix,” Viviana cautioned.

      “They do in my world.” He downed them with the whiskey chaser. “Do you have a flashlight? I’d like to take a look at that bay window from the outside.”

      “You do realize it’s almost three o’clock in the morning.”

      “I’d still like to check it out before a cop arrives.”

      “I was told to stay inside with the doors locked.”

      “And you should. So either hand me a flashlight or I’ll get one out of my truck.”

      While Viviana opened a kitchen drawer and rummaged for a flashlight, Dakota pulled a sharp knife from the rack at the back of the kitchen counter.

      “There’s really nothing the man could see from out there,” Viviana explained as she handed him a shiny red flashlight. “The blinds were closed. And even from the front door, all you can see through the sidelights is the foyer.”

      “That’s good to know.”

      “I’d rather you not go out there, Dakota. The man has a gun and he might come back.”

      “I hope he does, but it’s not likely.”

      “What makes you think that?”

      “He ran both times I showed up. He’s not looking to use that gun if he doesn’t have to. And he’s not looking for a real fight.”

      “How do you know so much about criminals?”

      “I watch CSI religiously.”

      Once outside, the steady whir of the air conditioner dominated the still, quiet air. Dakota squeezed through the shrubs so that he was pretty much in the same spot that the trespasser had been.

      Just as Viviana had said, the blinds completely blocked any view of the inside of the house. That ruled out the guy just being a voyeur. So did the fact that the screen was missing.

      Dakota sprayed a beam of light over the hedge. Sure enough, the screen was tucked into one of the bushes. He moved the beam back to the window. There were marks on the wood where the guy had tried to pry the window open.

      No doubt about it, the guy had come back for her. Dakota’s insides bucked at the thought of what might have happened if he hadn’t showed up at that exact moment.

      Viviana was waiting to open the door for him when he stepped in front of it.

      “Do you have an alarm system?” Dakota asked.

      “Yes, and it was set. It would have gone off instantly if the man had come through the door or the window.”

      “Nice in theory, but professional crooks disable them all the time. I’ll check it.”

      “So much for feeling safe in my own house. Now that I think about it, the motion detector didn’t come on when you went outside.”

      “I know. I suspect the bulb is crushed into the lawn behind the bushes.”

      Before Dakota could check the alarm system, the security company called on Viviana’s cell phone to say they weren’t getting a signal from the house phone line.

      She assured them she was fine. They promised to send a technician out to check the system the following morning, though they suspected the problem was with the phone company.

      Dakota suspected it was with a cut phone line.

      “What if you hadn’t come back tonight, Dakota? What then?” Viviana’s voice shook. “That armed thug would be in my house right now.”

      Dakota slipped an arm around her shoulder. “I did come back. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.”

      Viviana dropped to the sofa.

      Seconds later, the flashing red lights of a squad car filtered through the sidelights for a few seconds before going dark. The sirens were silent.

      Viviana