Page 6 of A Ranger for Christmas
“Not much of a detective.”
He tightened his grip on the wheel. “I found you, didn’t I?”
She dropped her head back against the seat. Could this Christmas season get any worse?
She didn’t know what to say, so she kept silent. Lights from cars and buildings whisked past.
“Word is, you have a major find on your hands,” he said.
No one wanted the blow-by-blow of her findings. Too many times, she witnessed eyes glazing over after she launched into a detailed description. “Bits and pieces. I’m hoping to string it into something worthwhile.”
Ahead, she spotted the lights of the toy store sign, and soon he’d parked in front. Inside, she saw the clerk waiting, two bags on the counter.
“I’ll be right back,” she said.
“I’ll be waiting.”
Disregarding the meaning humming under his words, she dashed into the store. Bells jingled over her head as she hurried through the door. She glanced at the clock, fishing her wallet out of her purse. One minute past closing time. “You waited for me.”
The older man, eyes heavy with fatigue, shook his head. “Ranger said to wait.”
“A Ranger called you?” She pulled out her credit card and handed it to him.
He swiped it. “Said not to close and to wait.” He looked past her to the dark SUV. “He sounded insistent, so I figured it was best to wait.”
She pocketed her card and the receipt. Normally, she’d have argued. Taking any kind of favor led to dependency and thatled to heartache. But tonight she was too grateful to complain. “Thanks.”
“Merry Christmas.”
“Same to you.”
She wrestled the heavy bags from the counter and moved to the front door. Lucas got out of the SUV and opened the door for her. Without asking, he took the bags from her and placed them in the backseat.
“Thanks.”
“Glad to help.”
She slid back into her seat, and he settled behind the wheel and drove. “So tell me about this code.”
“Not much I can tell you. Experts can’t crack it. They thought if they could create a key, they could translate the symbols. But no one can figure out the key.”
Silver bracelets jangled on her wrist as she ran her fingers through her hair. “Well, ancient languages are what I do best.”
“Exactly what I’ve heard.”
“Show me what you have and I’ll take my best shot.”
“Great.”
They arrived at Ranger headquarters minutes later and Marisa followed Lucas past security. He led her to his locked office, flipped on the lights, and moved to a small conference table where a stack of papers rested. “These are the coded messages we have. Feel free to have a look. If you don’t mind, I’m going to order pizza. Haven’t eaten much today.”
Her stomach grumbled. “I’ll go halves with you on the pizza. I’m starving.”
His powerful gaze reflected a mixture of humor and deadly intent. “You crack that code, and I will buy you all the pizza you can eat.”
“Deal.”
Her mind shifting from him to the papers, she quickly found herself pulled into the documents and the swirl of symbols. To the untrained eye it was chaos. To her, it was heaven.
