Trouble in Texas by Katie Lane

sausage and cheese omelet. Of course, if you
     prefer buttermilk pancakes, I could whip you up some of those.” She moved over to
     the nightstand and set the tray down. “I’m so glad that Minnie decided to let you
     go.” When she turned back around, the dreamy look was replaced by a contrite one.
     “We really didn’t mean you any harm.”
    Brant snorted as he strode to the closet. “And you think drugging a man isn’t harmful?”
     The closet was half the size of the room, with rows of evening gowns, enough shoes
     to make any woman swoon, and box after box of hats.
    “She was quite a fashion plate, our Miss Hattie.” Baby came up behind him. “All her
     clothing was specially made just for her. Her party gowns were sent all the way from
     Paris.” She ran a hand over the feathered trim of one gown and didn’t seem to notice
     that half the feathers came off in her hand. “I wish I had been alive then. The parties
     she threw sounded like so much fun.”
    There was a time when Brant would’ve agreed with Baby, but after being shot, drugged,
     and violated, most of the intrigue had been replaced with anger. Jerking a silk kimono
     off a hanger, he slipped it on and released the sheet.
    Baby giggled as he turned around. “You look just like Tony Curtis in
Some Like It Hot
. All you need is a wig and some makeup.” She stared at him for a moment, her platinum
     blond head tipped to the side. “Or maybe not; your face is a little too rugged to
     pass for a woman’s.” When he scowled, her smile slipped. “Minnie didn’t let you go,
     did she?”
    “Nope,” he said.
    For an old gal in high heels, Baby moved pretty quickly. She scuttled back out of
     the closet and was gone from the room by the time Brant finished knotting his sash.
     He didn’t hurry after her. Instead he took his time, stopping to check out each room
     he passed. There were six, not including Miss Hattie’s. Each had a small adjoining
     bathroom and closet, and all were completely empty. No curtains, rugs, or one stick
     of furniture.
    At the end of the hallway was a small elevator that Minnie no doubt used to get up
     to the second level. It looked a little too rickety for Brant so he took the stairs.
     Despite the need for a fresh coat of stain and sealant, the staircase was majestic.
     A skillfully crafted mahoganybanister spiraled down the fifty-odd steps it took to get to the bottom. Brant might’ve
     taken the time to check out the main floor if a slamming door hadn’t drawn his attention
     to the rear of the house.
    Remembering the derringer, he stayed close to the wall and eased around the first
     doorway he came to. It turned out to be the kitchen. The room was empty, but it didn’t
     look like it had been that way for long. Three half-full cups sat on the Fifties-style
     enamel and chrome table, circling an ashtray with a smoldering cigarette.
    Brant wasn’t interested in the contents of the table as much as the bright yellow
     phone that hung on the wall. He walked over and lifted the receiver. But before he
     could even finish dialing the nine on the rotary dial, he hung it back up. If he had
     learned anything by living in a small town, it was that news traveled fast. The newspaper
     reporters would have a field day when they learned that the president of C-Corp had
     been held hostage by a bunch of old women. And Brant had never much cared for publicity—good
     or bad.
    No, he could handle things without getting the law involved. It wouldn’t be hard.
     Brant was an expert at figuring out how to make people pay. In fact, the thought almost
     had him smiling when a creak pulled his attention back to the doorway. He walked out
     of the kitchen in time to see a woman making her way up the long staircase. To say
     she was an average woman was an understatement. Everything about her was average—from
     her height and weight to her dishwater blond hair pulled back in a haphazard bun.
     She wore a gray suit that reminded