Free Collision Course by Desiree Holt

ideas.”
    “What?”
He frowned. “Oh. Yeah. The book. Well, it’s mostly putting research together
now. Stuff I’m pulling off the Internet. Nothing you’d even be interested in.”
    “You’d
be surprised. I’ll bet if the people in Connelly knew you might be writing
about them, they’d be pestering you to death to read what you’ve got.”
    Did his
face turn a little pale or was her overactive imagination at work? He scooted
the computer even closer to the wall and picked up his fork.
    “There’s
not much for them to see yet. And I’d appreciate it big time if you didn’t
mention it to anyone. No one at all.” His smile turned into more of a grimace.
“Please. I’d hate for them to see something in its raw form and maybe get upset
about it.”
    Casey
shrugged. “Sure. No problem. I can respect your privacy.”
    Throughout
the morning, she kept an eye on him, careful not to be obvious about it. Every
time someone came into the coffee house side, he looked up and studied them,
tipping the cover of the laptop forward. He practically vibrated with tension
until she either greeted the person by name or whoever it was paid no attention
to him.
    By now
every one of her senses was on full alert. She’d learned both in law
enforcement and the Army to pick up on signals, and every signal T.J. Buck had
sent out since he walked in the door reminded her of someone on the run. He had
to be hiding from something, but what? And here? In Connelly, Texas, of all
places?
    And who
could be after him? The law? Something worse? And why?
    Yes,
Miss FBI/Special Ops, let your imagination run away with you. He said he’s
staying for two weeks. Long enough to do some writing and some research. And
that’s all.
    Ben had
scheduled her for an evening shift at the sheriff’s office. She’d steal a
little computer time and check to see if there were any Wants or Warrants out
on him.
    Of
course, you idiot, keep in mind the name he gave you most likely isn’t his real
one.
    But
maybe she could find one close to it and go from there. Or maybe she’d find
nothing. Common sense told her to leave it alone, but she’d listened to her gut
more than common sense. One of the reasons she’d had trouble both in the Bureau
and the military. To make things worse, her gut seldom steered her wrong.
Something her superiors in both fields swallowed with distaste.
    Which
meant she had no intention of ignoring them now. She’d keep a close eye on Mr.
T.J. Buck. Very close. But still keep her distance. If that was even possible.

 
    Chapter Five
     
    Trey
smiled at the waitress as she set his plate in front of him. Better not appear
too unpleasant. Nothing to make people suspicious. He’d had a hard time all
morning, nearly jumping out of his skin whenever someone new arrived, careful to
keep the screen on his laptop shielded. Working in a public place like the Half
’n Half might not be the best idea, but his options were limited. And he didn’t
want to hit the road again until he’d made more progress in his searches. He
just needed to blend into the woodwork.
    He
considered himself fortunate to snag the last booth in the row. There was no
booth behind him where someone might sit and catch a glimpse of his screen.
    He could
pretty much be guaranteed Connelly, Texas and the people in it weren’t on
Bennett’s radar. Still, the experience he’d acquired negotiating mega business
deals had taught him he could never be too careful.
    Trey
waited until the woman refilled his mug before lifting the cover on his laptop
again. Rubbing his damp palms against his jeans, he flexed his fingers and
began typing. He pulled up the Bennett Global web site and cruised around it
while he ate, browsing through the familiar pages. He didn’t know what he
expected to find there. Everything on the site had been posted for public
consumption. He thought—hoped—maybe something might trip a memory in his mind.
    Next he
ran a search for the companies and