Protecting Melody Read Online Free Page B

and given him a thousand directions on what Baby liked and how to care for her.  
    When all was said and done, Amy had given Tex a hug and simply whispered in his ear before he left, “I’m only letting you take Baby because I know you’re gonna find Melody. Bring my friend home, Tex. Please.”  
    So here he was. Tex had packed two laptops, a large duffle bag and headed north to Pennsylvania. Now he had a large bag of premium dog food, an assortment of dog toys and snacks, and a dog to add to his belongings.  
    Tex was headed to California. It was a long drive from one side of the country to the other, but he was used to small amounts of sleep. He didn’t plan on making very many stops, counting on arriving in California in about three days. He wanted to be there immediately, knowing every day that passed with no communication with Melody meant one more day she could be in trouble. Making the stop in Pennsylvania meant Tex lost a day, but he didn’t want to leave Baby behind.  
    His sixth sense was screaming at him to take the dog with him, and he never ignored that feeling. It had saved him and his SEAL teammates more than once. Tex had no idea why it was important, other than the fact he knew Melody loved her dog.  
    His plan was to take Interstate 70 across the United States until St. Louis, then cut down to Interstate 40 to Barstow, California, then finally head south on Interstate 15 into the Los Angeles area.  
    Tex was more certain he was on the right track in finding where Melody was hiding after his trip to Pennsylvania. Putting together all the things he’d gleaned from his conversations with Melody herself and from talking with Amy, he believed she was hiding on the west coast.  
    He’d done a lot of research online before heading to Pennsylvania and Amy’s house. He’d tracked Mel’s movements when she left home. She went south first and then west to California. Most of the things he’d done to get that far weren’t legal, but Tex was used to getting what he wanted, and covering his tracks while he was doing it.  
    Los Angeles was a huge city, and it was a long shot that Tex would find her quickly, but he was going to start with the Anaheim area. Melody had asked about his favorite Disney character, it had been an odd thing to ask out of the blue. Tex had asked Amy if Melody had a “thing” for Disney and she’d said no. So Tex could only conclude that Melody asking, had to have something to do with what she was seeing on a daily basis.  
    Amy had also told Tex that Melody was a Closed Caption reporter. It fit. She could work on the road from anywhere that had an Internet connection. There weren’t that many CC companies in the country and Tex knew he could further track her that way. While it’d be more difficult because Melody was obviously using public Wi-Fi to connect, Tex could still narrow down the area where she was by backtracking the connection.  
    Tex was also happy to be headed to the Los Angeles area because he’d get a chance to catch up with his friends and to meet all their women. He felt as if he already knew them, and he couldn’t wait to meet them face-to-face. While he wanted to rush and find Melody, he also knew he’d have to take at least one night’s break to take care of his leg. Tex figured he’d drop down to Riverton and visit with Wolf and the rest of the team before heading back up to LA to find Melody.  
    He’d called the night before and told Wolf he was on his way west. Tex smiled remembering the shriek of joy that had come out of Caroline when Wolf had told her he was on his way to California.  
    Tex remembered Melody commenting on how she thought his friends were taking advantage of him. He knew that wasn’t the case, but it felt good to have Melody looking out for him. Wolf had told him everyone had been planning on flying out to Virginia in a few months to visit. When Tex had asked who “everyone” was, he’d been shocked to hear it was all