But hes your best salesman.
McKenzie let out a humorless laugh. Hard to believe, isnt it?
Still, I wouldnt want to be blamed for him losing his job.
You wont. Trust me. I have my own issues with him. She snapped the phone shut, angry with herself for letting things go on this long.
She had talked to Gus after that incident outside her house. Hed shrugged it off, made an excuse and she hadnt seen him again near her place. But that didnt mean he hadnt been more careful the next time. There was just no reining Gus in, she thought as she found her keys and started toward her car.
She wasnt looking forward to tomorrow. Gus wouldnt take being fired well. There would be a scene. She really hated scenes. But this was her responsibility as the owner of the agency. Maybe she should call him tonight and hire security until she could get Gus Thompsons desk cleaned out and the locks changed on the doors at the agency.
With a sigh, she hit the door lock on her key fob. The door on her SUV beeped. Out of the corner of her eye, she barely noticed the man parked next to her, loading his groceries. His back to her, he bent over the bags of groceries hed put in his trunk as she walked past him.
She was thinking about Gus Thompson when the man grabbed her ponytail and jerked her off her feet. Shocked, she didnt make a sound. She didnt even drop her groceries as his arm clamped around her throat. Her only thought was: this isnt happening.
* * *
HAYES CARDWELL FELT his stomach growl as he walked down the grocery-store aisle. The place was empty at this hour of the night with just one clerk at the front, whod barely noticed him when he walked in. The grocery was out of the way and it was late enough that most people had done their shopping, cooking and eating by now.
His plane had been delayed in Denver, putting him down in the Gallatin Valley much later than hed hopedand without any food for hours. He still had the drive to Big Sky tonight, one he wasnt looking forward to since he didnt know the highway.
Being from Texas, he wasnt used to mountainslet alone mountain roads. He was debating calling his brother Tag and telling him he would just get a motel tonight down here in the valley and drive up tomorrow in the daylight.
He snagged a bottle of wine to take to his cousin Dana Savage tomorrow and debated what he could grab to eat. The thought of going to a restaurant at this hourand eating alonehad no appeal.
In the back of the store, he found a deli with premade items, picked himself up a sandwich and headed for the checkout. His Western boot soles echoed through the empty store. He couldnt imagine a grocery being this empty any hour of the day where he lived in Houston.
The checker was an elderly woman who looked as tired as he felt. He gave her a smile and two twenties. Her return smile was weak as she handed him his change.
Have a nice night, she said in a monotone.
Is there a motel close around here?
She pointed down the highway to the south. Theres several. She named off some familiar chains.
He smiled, thanked her and started for the door.
* * *
MCKENZIE HAD TAKEN a self-defense class years ago. Living in Montana, shed thought she would never need the training. A friend had talked her into it. The highlight of the course was that theyd always gone out afterward for hot-fudge sundaes.
Thats all she remembered in the split second the man grabbed her.
He tightened his viselike grip on her, lifting her off her feet as he dragged her backward toward the trunk of his car. The man had one hand buried in her hair, his arm clamped around her throat. He was so much taller, she dangled like a rag doll from the hold he had on her. She felt one shoe drop to the pavement as she tried to make sense of what was happening.
Her mind seemed to have gone numb with her thoughts ricocheting back and forth from sheer panic to disbelief. Everything was happening too fast. She opened her mouth and tried to scream, but little sound came out with his arm pressed against her throat. Who would hear, anyway? There was no one.
Realization hit her like a lightning bolt. The parking lot was empty with only one other car at the opposite end of the lot. With such an empty lot, the man whod grabbed her had parked right next to her. Also the light shed parked under was now out. Why hadnt she noticed? Because shed been thinking about Gus Thompson.
She saw out of the corner of her eye that the man had moved his few bags of groceries to one side of the trunk, making room for her. The realization that hed been planning this sent a rush of adrenaline through her.
If there was one thing she remembered from the defense class it was: never let anyone take you to a second location.
McKenzie drove an elbow into the mans side. She heard the air rush out of him. He bent forward, letting her feet touch the ground. She teetered on her one high heel for a moment then dropped to her bare foot to kick back and drive her shoe heel into his instep.
He let out a curse and, his hand still buried in her long hair, slammed her head into the side of his car. The blow nearly knocked her out. Tiny lights danced before her eyes. If shed had any doubt before, she now knew that she was fighting for her life.