Protecting Melody by Susan Stoker Read Free Book Online

or during a mission. But Tex wasn’t stoic now. He knew he was cutting it close. Melody deleting her account, the silence, the working so many jobs in a short period of time. She was getting ready to run and he needed to catch up with her before she did. He hoped like hell she’d be working another job today. She’d done an excellent job of keeping her exact whereabouts hidden, but Tex knew if he could find her, so could a stalker.  
    The thought of somebody terrorizing someone as sweet as Melody cut through Tex like a knife. There weren’t a lot of truly “nice” people in this world, and from what he knew of Melody, she was one of them. Her family and friends couldn’t think of one bad thing to say about her. Hell, even her dog was pining for her. It pissed him off that someone would dare to terrorize somebody as sweet as Melody.  
    If he was honest with himself, Tex was a little freaked about how much he cared about this woman. A woman he’d never actually met. It was frankly a little crazy. Melody had told him she was twenty-seven, and in all honesty, that was probably younger than what he was really looking for in a woman. He was thirty-five, a very ancient thirty-five, but it wasn’t like he was actually looking to start something with her . . . or was he?  
    Tex leaned forward and pulled out his wallet and took out the picture Amy had given him. It was of Amy and Melody. They had their arms around each other and were smiling at the camera. The women were wearing shorts and T-shirts and Amy had told him it was taken at a barbeque she had at her house not too long before Melody disappeared.  
    Tex ran his fingers over Melody’s face. He hadn’t really thought much about what Mel would actually look like. He’d liked her for her wit and her sarcasm. Tex enjoyed talking to her and knew no matter what she looked like, he would still enjoy talking to her. But as it turned out, Melody was cute. Her hair was blond, shoulder length, and curly. She was neither short nor tall. Tex didn’t think she’d never be slender like a model; Melody was what Tex thought of as “luscious.” Shaking his head, Tex put the picture back into his wallet for safe keeping.  
    He was nervous and confused. No woman had ever made him feel what Melody did. She soothed him, supported him, and wasn’t afraid to call him on his bullshit. Tex had opened up more to her than anyone. She knew him , and that was scary as hell. She knew how he really felt about losing his leg. How he felt about the prosthetic. About being a SEAL. About his friends. She knew it all. A part of Tex was also hurt that Melody had cut him off so completely. They’d shared so much, and the fact that she could cut him out of her life so easily, was a blow.  
    Baby’s head came up at Tex’s feet as his phone vibrated and pinged with an incoming text message. The dog looked at him with her ears perked forward. Tex leaned down and smoothed his hand over her head. “It’s probably Caroline or one of the girls wanting to make sure I arrived all right,” he reassured the dog.  
    I’m scared  
    That’s all the text said. Just those two words. Tex didn’t recognize the number, but he immediately knew who it was. He sat up straight in his chair and quickly typed out a response. His heart was suddenly beating as quickly as if he’d just run a five mile race.  
    I know you are, Mel. Where are you?  
    Tex waited with bated breath for her response. He hoped like hell she’d text him back. He didn’t know where her head was at, but if Melody admitted she was scared after almost two weeks of not talking to him at all, Tex knew it wasn’t good. She was obviously skittish and Tex knew she could bolt at any time.  
    Nowhere  
    Cut the crap. Tell me where you are  
    Tex knew he had to get through to her. She was depressed and scared, not a good combination.  
    CA  
    WHERE exactly?  
    Anaheim  
    Keep going  
    What does it matter?  
    It matters to me. What