Colton Christmas Protector (The Coltons of Texas #12)(26)
Because he’d originally intended it to be a secure retreat when he felt his life was at risk from the enemies he made through his job, he’d taken extra measures at the lake house. A state-of-the-art alarm system, dead bolts, security cameras, secure Wi-Fi and reinforced windows. He’d spared no expense because...well, he could. He had his share of the Colton wealth at his disposal, and if he couldn’t spend it to create a safe zone for himself, a retreat where he could not only relax and rejuvenate, but do so in safety and luxury, then what was the point of having vast amounts of cash at his disposal?
His salary at the police department had been irrelevant to him. He’d worked because he’d have been bored living the life of a rich playboy. As a detective, he’d been challenged mentally and physically. The element of danger had appealed to his thirst for excitement, and the service he’d performed the community by arresting criminals and solving murders gave him a sense of purpose. That purpose was what he’d missed most in the past year. He hated feeling useless, hated knocking around the huge Colton estate and having no direction in his life.
His father’s disappearance had fueled his days in recent weeks, given him a mystery to puzzle out, but the lack of progress in finding the old man was proving an aggravation in more ways than one. Now, he supposed, he’d need to set aside Eldridge’s disappearance to look into who had shot up his truck. Knowing the elderly neighbor had called the police, Reid also knew there would be questions about why they’d left the scene. He’d be in touch with his contacts within the Plano PD to set things right there and find out as much as he could about the official investigation into the shooting.
But he wouldn’t leave the search for the shooter entirely to the police. Not when he had his own skills, his own insights and motivation to catch the person responsible. He’d not only find the shooter, but also the person who’d hired the gunman. Maybe that person was Hugh Barrington, maybe not. Either way, he had an itchy feeling that told him something significant was behind the attempt on his and Pen’s lives. The shooting wasn’t random.
He turned off the rural highway, down the narrow dirt path that was more like a cow trail leading to his lake house, and Pen sat taller on the backseat, her gaze darting about the isolated property. Fitting to his mood, a line of gunmetal clouds crept in from the north to blot out the December sun and cast the world in a dreary shadow. As they bumped down the rutted trail, branches from overgrown scrub bushes and winter-dead weeds scraped the sides of Pen’s Explorer like skeletal hands grabbing at them. The fingernails-on-blackboard screeching sent a shiver to Reid’s marrow.
Judging by the pained expression on Pen’s face, the noise, or maybe the implied damage to her SUV, unnerved her, as well.
“Sorry. I’ll spring for a new paint job when this is over,” he said, meeting her eyes in the rearview mirror.
She shook her head. “That’s the least of my worries right now. Where are we?”
“At a property I bought a few years ago for this very purpose.”
“You anticipated having someone trying to kill us?”
“Not you, specifically. But I figured in my line of work I could earn a dangerous enemy. Or need to hide a witness. Or...” He shrugged. “More often than not, I use it when I’m hiding from my family.”
She snorted a deprecating laugh. “Well, that I can understand. What I meant was where are we? We’ve been driving a long time.”
“Mmm-hmm.” He could tell his noncommittal hum of agreement didn’t appease her curiosity. If anything, his avoidance irritated her further. “Once I get you and pipsqueak settled, I’ll go into town to get you some things. Change of clothes or two, toiletries. Anything specific you want me to get you?”
“How about an answer to my question? Where are we?” Her scowl matched her tone.
“Better you don’t know. That way you can’t accidentally give yourself away.” They emerged from the tunnel of overgrowth to a field that stretched down to the lake house and waterfront.
Pen craned her neck, leaning toward the front seat to peer through the windshield at the terrain. “A lake? Which lake?” When he stayed silent, she grunted her exasperation. “Who am I going to tell?”
“Nothing personal. Just precaution.” Braking in front of the three-vehicle garage, he shifted the car into Park, then climbed out. When he’d punched the security code into the panel by the garage, the door rumbled and rolled open. He pulled the Explorer into the only open space in the garage and cut the ignition. The two spaces to the left were taken by his water ski boat, covered for the season with a giant tarp, and his Range Rover. Parked behind the garage was an older four-wheel-drive Jeep Wrangler he never drove anymore but hadn’t bothered to get rid of yet. As he exited the Explorer and cast a glance around his garage, he spotted damage to the insulation around the roof vents. Probably raccoons or squirrels had gnawed their way in to make a winter nest. He huffed a sigh and made a mental note to repair the damage. He scooped the pieces of their disassembled cell phones from the passenger seat.
After helping Penelope unbuckle Nicholas from his child seat, he led them into the house through the door from the garage. He paused in the mudroom, flipping switches to turn on lights, adjusting the heat to a more comfortable setting and entering the passcode to close the garage doors and rearm the security system. With a few more buttons and a typed password on a small keypad, he turned on the secured Wi-Fi.