Maggie e-mailed a copy of her app’s schematics to Ridge, who said he’d make sure Gizmo knew she wasn’t trying to hack his software and steal his baby. Which was never her intent. She’d simply found what she considered a glitch, and found a solution. It’s what she did, the way her mind worked.
“Maggie, I left a roast with potatoes and carrots cooking in the crockpot on the counter. There’s a salad in the fridge, and rolls are rising in the warming drawer. Just stick ’em in the oven right before you’re ready to serve dinner, and you should be good to go.”
Felicia Gaines leaned her hip against the marble countertop, and watched Maggie’s face expectantly. Maggie knew the other woman desperately wanted to find out why Ridge was staying in the guest room. As much as Maggie wanted to confide in her friend, there was only one problem. Felicia was one of the biggest blabbermouths she knew, and it wouldn’t take long before everybody in town would hear that Maggie was shacking up with a tall, dark, and delicious stranger.
“Thanks, Felicia.” She bit back a grin, and silently began her mental countdown. Three, two, one, and…
“Come on, Mags, don’t do this to me. Spill. Who is that gorgeous hunk of handsomeness? What’s he doing here in the middle of tiny town Texas? Are you two an item or what? Is he single? Available? Please say he’s available and looking for a good time. Please…”
Maggie looked at her dearest friend, standing with her hands folded in front of her in supplication, begging for answers, and burst into laughter. “His name is Ridge Boudreau.”
Felicia’s eyes widened at Ridge’s last name. Unless they lived under a rock, everybody within a hundred-mile radius had heard of the Boudreaus.
“Boudreau—as in the Shiloh Springs Boudreaus? Girl, I didn’t know you knew them personally.”
“I don’t know them know them. I met him yesterday.”
“Oh, tell me everything. Was it an instant attraction? When your eyes met, was it all swoon-worthy? Did you go all weak in the knees? Because, girlfriend, he’s gorgeous.”
“Nothing like that. I didn’t know he was coming. When we first met, I pulled a gun on him.”
“What! No way! Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack. He scared the living daylights outta me. I had no clue who he was. He was just some guy sneaking around the side of the house, and I had the shotgun with me, so I kinda told him to get his backside off my land.”
Felicia sputtered, covering her mouth with her hands to hold in her laughter. “I can picture it. You’ve always had a bit of a take no prisoner attitude. Bet he didn’t back down though, right?”
“Yep. Turns out he knows Henry. Apparently, Ridge is a security expert, and Henry asked him for a second opinion on upgrading my system. Only he didn’t bother telling me Ridge was coming.”
“Oh, a suspenseful first meeting. Doesn’t explain what he’s doing staying here, though. I saw his bag when I was cleaning, which means he’s planning on spending the night.”
Maggie drew in a deep breath before answering. “He’s going to be sticking around for a few days, while Henry’s out of town.”
“Well, I for one am glad he’ll be around for a few days.” Felicia swiped a kitchen towel across the peninsula’s top, a halfhearted gesture at best. “I don’t like the thought of you being out here alone. Even with all your fancy security, I can’t help worrying.” She grinned, her expression filled with glee. “Maybe I could stay for a few days. We could have a couple of days of lying around the pool in our bikinis, sipping margaritas, and watching Mr. Sexy do his thing.”
Maggie rolled her eyes at the suggestion. “Nope. You’ve got work, and I’m busy.”
Felicia sighed and tossed the kitchen towel at Maggie’s head. She caught it before it landed, and flung it back. “You’re always busy lately. I miss spending time with you. Shoot, we haven’t had a girls’ night out in forever.”
It was true. Maggie had dug herself in so deep in her secret project, she’d neglected everything else in her life. Walking over to Felicia, she gave her a hug.
“I’m sorry. I know I’ve been preoccupied. Honestly, I didn’t mean to make you feel like I was ignoring you. I promise, as soon as I can, we’ll do something. Maybe take a long weekend, and go down to South Padre Island, and lie on the beach and soak up some rays. Okay?”
“Promise?” Guilt swept through Maggie at the wistful appeal in her friend’s voice.
“My word of honor. Now, you’ve got to get to your class, and I need to see what Mr. Boudreau is up to.”
Felicia waggled her brows, making Maggie chuckle. “You sure you don’t want me to stick around? I’d love to help watch Mr. Boudreau work. I’m really good with my hands, ya know. I could assist him in all kinds of ways.”
“I’ll be sure to pass your offer along. Now, scoot. I’ll see you in a couple days.”
“Seriously, Mags, if you need anything, give me a shout. I can be back in around thirty minutes.”
“I know, and I appreciate it.”
Felicia walked to the closet by the front door and grabbed her purse hanging on the hook, and dug out her car keys.
Watching her friend go, Maggie smiled and headed toward her bedroom. She had a couple things she needed to check on, and while Ridge was working with the computer system in her office, now would be the perfect time. Especially since she didn’t want or need him butting into her private affairs. Things might get a little dicey with Henry out of the picture for a few days, but she could handle things on her own.
She’d been handling things on her own for a long time.
Ridge looked into the cardboard box containing the remains of the drone Maggie shot down, and decided to ship it off to Gizmo. Have him take a look at it, see if he could figure out where it came from, who it might belong to, since there were no markings he could see to identify it. The small engine was damaged. Obviously, Maggie was a darn good shot with that shotgun of hers.
Hearing a noise down the hall, he walked over to the doorway, and spotted Maggie heading out of her bedroom. She’d changed into a pair of jeans that hugged her curves, and a long-sleeved shirt with a high neck. Boots encased her feet, and he smiled, noting they were the prerequisite cowboy boots that everybody, man and woman alike, favored in Texas. Her hair was pulled back into a long tail, restrained at the back of her neck with a large clip.
Her purposeful stride away from him aroused his curiosity, and he couldn’t help wondering where she was headed. Following her felt like an invasion of her privacy, but he couldn’t afford to give her that luxury. The job took precedent over the illusion of freedom, and he quietly followed her, his footsteps soundless against the hardwood floors.
Watching her pull that battered straw hat from the closet, he knew she planned on leaving the house. There was no way he was staying behind. Not when he had the perfect opportunity to see what she was up to, because there wasn’t a doubt in his mind Maggie had secrets. It was his job to uncover them.
Staying a few feet behind and out of sight, he followed. She never spotted him, never looking left or right, but headed straight for the huge garage. Within a couple of minutes, he watched an older Jeep pull out, and he silently cursed. He’d thought to follow her on foot, not realizing she meant to travel any great distance. Though he might be able to catch up to her in his pickup, there was no way she wouldn’t spot him.
Slapping his cowboy hat against his thigh, he walked back to the house. Might as well check in with Daniel and update him. At least the first part of their plan worked; he was staying in her house.
He headed for the office, and watched the monitors, scanning each covered location, hoping for a glimpse of Maggie’s Jeep. Curiosity roused, he couldn’t help wanting to know where she’d headed. Who she was meeting up with? Was it her contact with the cartel? His gut clenched at the thought of her being involved in this mess. There was an innocence about her, a sweetness of spirit that he couldn’t imagine being corrupted by the ugliness of drug runners and their dirty money, pedaling their deadly concoctions.
Eyes glued to the monitors, he pressed the button and dialed Daniel’s number.
“Boudreau, talk to me.”
“We’re in.”
“Excellent work. She bought your cover story?”
“Absolutely. I’m staying onsite and right now, I’m studying her security setup. I’ve got a good view of the house and the surrounding area, but I’m not seeing any video farther out than the back forty. I’ll have to spend some time exploring the wooded areas, look for the road the smugglers are using.”
“I was hopeful we’d be able to spot it from the security feeds. Can you add additional cameras?”
“Would take way too long. I’m going to open a link so Buckeye can monitor the system remotely. That way, we can keep eyes on the monitors that we do have twenty-four seven, without Maggie being aware of our presence.”
“Maggie?”
“Mary Margaret. She prefers to be called Maggie.”
Daniel sighed. “Boudreau, don’t get too chummy with the suspect. That’s a complication we can’t afford.”
“Look, I know how to do my job, and I’ll work whatever angle I need to take down these scum-sucking dealers and put their bosses behind bars, and get that crap out of the hands of kids. If that means getting…closer to Maggie White, it’s all part of the job.”
“Fine, fine. This is your op. What’ve you found so far?”
“Before we get to that, do you know anything about drones flying over the property? Did you authorize anything and forget to tell me?”
“Not recently. You know we did a few flyovers a couple weeks back, but the foliage is far too dense to get anything useful. Did some satellite surveillance too, but for the most part, that was a bust. Found a couple places where it looked like vehicles could drive through, but when we checked them out, they petered out to nothing but scraggly footpaths.” Daniel’s voice trailed off, before he sputtered. “Are you telling me somebody’s flying drones over her land?”
Ridge chuckled. His boss hated being in the dark about anything concerning an ongoing investigation. “It appears somebody has been flying low-level drones. Maggie managed to blow one outta the sky yesterday.”
“She what?”
“You heard me. I studied what remained after taking a shotgun blast, but I can’t find any markings to indicate who or where it came from. I’m gonna send it to somebody who might be able to get us answers.”
“I can pick it up, have it sent to—”
“Don’t bother. My guy can get me the answers faster and keep the information under wraps.”
“Does he have clearance? We can’t send anything out without authorization unless they’ve got clearance.”
“Trust me, Gizmo’s clearance is higher than mine or yours. We’re covered on that front.”
“Fine. What else have you got?”
Ridge explained about the security set up, not mentioning Maggie owning a copy of D28-Arrow. That information would send Daniel into palpitations. Instead, he explained what she had, the progress he’d made with gaining her trust, and the pros and cons of upgrading her system.
“Let the guys know I’m gonna call ’em in to do a couple of installs, once I convince Maggie they’re needed. They’ll keep her occupied, freeing me up to survey the lay of the land. I mean to find that pipeline and destroy it, Daniel.”
“I know. It’s just as important to me, too. Keep me up-to-date, and let me know what this Gizmo person finds out about the drone.”
“Will do.”
Hanging up, Ridge leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head, and wondered what secrets Maggie was hiding. He’d have to up his game if he wanted to catch Ms. Maggie in the act. A self-satisfied smile lifted the corners of his mouth.
“Let the games begin.”