Trail of Lies (17 page)

She needed to come up with a way to escape. “There's always Witness Protection.”

He laughed, a high-pitched sound. “I have my family to think about. I'm not going to be taken, Melora.”

Alive. He hadn't said that word, but that was what he meant. She heard it in his voice. She saw it in the resolve in his expression as she glanced back at him. “Did you kill Axle?”

“Clyde Walker did. Axle and his bodyguard both. Your uncle ordered it.”

The feeling of betrayal multiplied, and she had to resist the urge to give into it. Not now. She had to remain as calm as possible if she wanted to stay alive. “But you hired Clyde Walker to carry out the hit two years ago.”

“Yes, but I didn't have anything to do with the death of your uncle. They did. They should have found someone else. Clyde was becoming unpredictable. I suspected he was taking drugs, but I needed someone fast and he'd done a good job in the past. He was just supposed to frighten you so you wouldn't say anything to the police.”

Listening to Jorge tell her what he'd done made her realize she wouldn't get out of this alive unless she did something about it. Jorge wasn't going to let her go when he got away from the hospital. She knew too much, and this man she'd known for years was losing it.

Before she turned the next corner, Jorge gripped her arm and hauled her back against him. The barrel of the gun poked into her back, doubling her already fast heart rate.

Lord, help me. What do I do?

Walking in sync with Jorge, Melora rounded the corner at the end of the dim corridor and came to a halt. Furniture stacked against the wall and door blocked the exit.

A curse exploded from Jorge's lips, singeing her ears
with his fury. Sounds coming from the hallway they had used reverberated through the air. Footfalls.

Thoughts of a shootout made her stumble as Jorge shoved her toward the furniture, his gaze darting back the way they came. She fell against a desk, toppling a chair to the cement floor. The loud crash sent panic through her as her gaze flew to Jorge's enraged face.

Suddenly, Melora felt as trapped as Jorge must feel.

 

Watching Jorge direct Melora toward the stairs on the video footage from a few minutes ago, Daniel clenched his hands at his sides, wanting to pound his fist into the doctor's face. The pale look of fear on her face tore at his composure, something he needed at the moment. “Where do you think he would go?” He'd downed several painkillers so he could function. There was no way he wasn't going to be involved in finding Melora.

“If he wants to leave, either the basement or the first floor. Otherwise, there's no way out.”

“No cameras on the stairwell?”

“No. If he comes out on a floor, we'll pick him up eventually. Not every inch of the hospital is covered but enough that he'll appear on camera soon enough. All the exits have a camera on them except a couple in the basement that aren't used anymore.”

“Would Dr. Cantana know that?”

“Maybe. It isn't a secret, but it isn't broadcast, either.” The security chief pointed to the bank of computers with different live pictures of the hospital. “The police have arrived.”

“Good. Have them help your guards make sure all the exits are covered adequately then start a floor-by-floor search for Jorge and Melora. If you see where they are, let everyone know. I'll be in the basement. Get a team down
there as fast as you can. Do you have a floor plan of that area?”

“Yeah.” The man punched several keys on a computer, and the schematics came up on a screen.

With the picture in his mind of Melora's pale face as she went where she was told, Daniel studied the layout of the basement then shot out of the security office, on the cell with Levi to get his help covering that level. He couldn't stay, coordinate the search and wait for teams to report in after they check out their assigned floor. Besides, if he were Jorge, he would go to the basement.

After stepping off the elevator, Daniel paused and listened for any sounds coming from the maze of corridors in the basement. Something big hit the floor not too far away. From what he could remember, the noise came in the direction of one of the exits not used anymore.

As he started forward, the elevator chimed behind him, and the doors opened to reveal Levi and Evan. They hurried off, their expression set in grim lines, their guns in their hands.

“Which way?” Levi asked in a low voice.

“I'll take this corridor. I heard something coming from that way. There's an exit at the end of this hall. Evan, you go down that one. There's a door leading to a loading dock about halfway down it.” Daniel gestured toward a hallway leading in the opposite direction. “Levi, you take that one.” Daniel swung his arm around to indicate a passageway to the left. “It leads to the same exit I'm heading toward but from the other way.”

Daniel strode a few feet, stopped and turned back. “Don't forget Jorge Cantana has a gun and a hostage. We have to think about her safety above anything else.”

Then cautiously he covered the length of the dimly lit corridor, checking any room that opened on to it. As he
neared the exit, he heard low murmurs and slowed his step. Plastering his back against the wall, he sidled toward the corner at the end of the passageway. If he remembered correctly, the door to the outside was only a few yards away on the opposite wall.

 

“Move faster.” Jorge said in a furious whisper.

With his weapon trained on her, Melora tried to do what he told her, but her sweaty hands trembled so badly her grip kept slipping on the wood. A chair lay at her feet and the anger that encompassed Jorge's face scared her more than the gun pointed at her. She'd never seen him like this before.

“If I go down, you're going down with me. You're the reason everything has fallen apart.”

Jorge's low rants bombarded her ears as he thrust himself close to her. He was falling apart and there was no telling what he would do when cornered.

Melora wrapped her hands around the leg of the chair at her feet and started to lift it. A noise to her left drew her attention at the same time Jorge grabbed her and pressed her against his chest. He aimed his weapon at her head.

“Drop the gun and let her go.”

Hearing a deep male voice, Melora fastened her gaze on Ranger Levi McDonnell standing in the entrance of a corridor that fed into the one where she and Jorge were. Jorge positioned himself so that Melora was between him and Levi. Jorge's tremors, the biting grasp of his hand into her arm, the metal barrel pointed at her temple only verified that he was falling apart. She didn't know how she was going to make it out alive.

“What do you take me for? I'm not letting her go. If you come any closer, I'll shoot her. I'm not being taken in.”

An almost hysterical ring to his words worried Melora
more than anything. Jorge was losing any rational grip he had earlier. What could she do to end this without anyone getting killed?

D
aniel peered around the corner and saw Levi in front of Jorge with Melora clasped against the doctor. The pair was a couple of yards away. If he could sneak up behind the doctor, he might be able to disable him before he got a shot off. Although he could try and shoot him from this angle, Jorge might move or the bullet could go through him and hit Melora. He couldn't risk it.

He removed his shoes so he could be completely silent on the cement floor. Then he rounded the corner. Levi's gaze flicked to him but so briefly that Jorge didn't pick up on his presence.

The doctor took a step back, closer toward him. “All I want to do is leave here. I won't harm her unless you try something.” Jorge kept his gaze glued to Levi, but he took another pace backward, trying to angle himself toward the wall. “I need the furniture taken down so I can leave. If you want to keep her safe, you'll start moving it.”

As Daniel cut the distance between him and Jorge, his heartbeat increased. From a well of past training, he willed himself to remain calm and composed.

A couple of more feet.

Daniel turned his gun in his hand so he could use it to knock Jorge out. Every nerve taut with tension, he crept
even closer, praying to the Lord that the doctor didn't suddenly decide to glance behind him.

“You aren't going to get away. The police are all over the place and the grounds,” Levi said in a professional negotiator's voice, keeping Jorge's attention on him. “I can move the furniture, but do you really think you can escape?”

“Yeah, with Melora. She's my guarantee.”

Daniel raised the butt of the gun and in one quick move brought it down on Jorge's head. The man jerked, then collapsed to the floor while Levi rushed forward and Melora stumbled and went down, too.

“I'll take care of him,” Levi said as he stooped next to Jorge.

Daniel was already moving toward Melora and knelt to help her. His arms wound about her and she folded herself against him. Her tears soaked his shirt. Her whole body shook.

“You're all right now. I won't let anything happen to you,” he whispered against the top of her head.

 

Melora couldn't stop shaking. She hugged her arms around her middle. Her teeth chattered, the cold deep inside her bones. Looking around the staff hospital lounge, she wasn't even sure how she got up there from the basement. Daniel had deposited her in a stuffed chair, said a few soothing words to her before he was called away. She knew a Ranger stood guard outside the door. She wanted to go home. Hold her daughter and never let her go.

Hadn't Daniel said something about the guard being a precaution until they sorted everything out about what went down today?

Another betrayal swamped her as she thought back over what had happened with Jorge. He had been involved with her uncle and husband in some kind of drug-running
operation. Lies were all those people had ever told her. She'd cared for each one of them, including Juanita and Alicia. Three were dead now, one being held by the police and the other in hiding all because of the Lions of Texas.

Who could she trust when she couldn't believe in her judgment anymore?

All the emotions—anger, sadness, disbelief—twisted around inside her mind, shutting down her thoughts as they overwhelmed her. Burying her face in her hands, she sucked in one shallow breath after another, but nothing seemed to fill her lungs with enough oxygen.

Kneading her fingers into her temple, she lifted her head and listened to someone talking outside the room. For a few seconds fear pushed all other feelings into the background as she relived the past hour in her mind—all in a flash.

The door opened. She captured her next inhalation and didn't release it until she saw Daniel come through the entrance. His gaze fell on to her, and a smile deep in his eyes erased the tired lines on his face.

“How are you holding up?” Tenderness laced each word.

Melora wanted to respond to the caring in his expression, but after all that had happened she couldn't afford to. “Am I free to go home?”

Two strides and he hovered over her, holding out his hand for her to take. “Yes. I'll drive you.”

“If you need to stay, I can find another way.”

“No. Levi is wrapping everything up. He'll see to Jorge.”

Just the thought of the man who had been her daughter's doctor nauseated her. She fought the rising bile and struggled to her feet, ignoring Daniel's offered hand. She needed to do this by herself—pull her life together, depend on no one.

Melora trudged toward the hallway. When she emerged from the hospital, the sun bathed her cold body, but she didn't feel its warmth. The chill burrowed deep into her as though it had spread its tentacles over every inch of her. She pressed her folded arms closer to her chest and hurried toward Daniel's truck, refusing to acknowledge the reporters wanting a statement. What could she say to them? That her life had been built on a series of lies? Nothing had been the truth. Not her uncle's love. Not her husband's love.

She turned her head away from Daniel on the long drive to her house. She blanked her mind and stared at the passing landscape without really seeing it.

When Daniel stopped in front of her house, she opened her door before he had switched off the engine. She was halfway to her porch when he caught up with her.

He settled his hand on her shoulder. “Slow down. You should be safe now.”

She whirled on him. “Safe? What's that?”

“We found the information they were after, and now it's in the hands of the authorities. We found the person behind your husband and uncle's deaths. The drug connection with your husband's restaurants has been severed.”

“So you and Gisella are moving out?”

“In the next couple of days. I want to make sure all the loose ends are wrapped up.”

“Then what you said about me being safe was just words uttered to appease me?”

“Well, no. But I want to be one hundred percent sure before I pull all the protection.”

“Then let Gisella stay until you know one hundred percent.”

He moved close, invading her personal space. Grasping her upper arms, he rubbed his hands up and down them
as though that would finally chase away the cold. “Just Gisella?”

“Yes, I'm sure you have a lot of work to do, and I want my life to return to normal as quickly as possible. Kaitlyn needs that.”
I need that, and if you're here it won't be.
She released a slow breath. “I'm thinking it will be best if Kaitlyn and I move away from San Antonio. Start over fresh somewhere else.”

“Move away?”

She nodded, tearing her gaze from the shadows she glimpsed in his eyes.

He inched closer and drew her chin around so she could look at him. “I care about you and Kaitlyn. I was hoping we could see each other without all the intrigue. See what could develop between us. I lo—”

She pressed her fingers over his mouth, stilling his words. “Don't. It wouldn't work between us. Weren't you the one who said he wasn't comfortable being a father? Kaitlyn needs a father.”

“Melora, I was wrong.”

She pulled free and backed away. “Goodbye.” She spun on her heels and marched toward the front porch, slipping inside the house quickly when Gisella opened the door.

While the female Ranger stepped outside, Kaitlyn ran to Melora and launched herself into her arms. Melora embraced her daughter, never wanting to let her go. The pain buried deep inside her inundated her. She loved Daniel but didn't trust her judgment anymore. What if she was wrong about him? She couldn't risk any more hurt.

 

In his captain's office at the Texas Ranger's office in San Antonio three days later, Daniel put his report down on Ben's desk. “It's all in there.” He settled into the chair behind him.

“What did you find at Jorge's house and office?”

“A cash withdrawal from his bank account that fits with the amount Walker received right before Tyler Madison was killed, Melora's testimony about him telling her on orders from Madison he took care of Axle because he was getting greedy, the video feed that shows Jorge taking Melora hostage, and his hospital ID number is the number on the flash drive next to the reference for Mercy. We checked the lockers, room numbers and any others we could find in the hospital and that is the only match. There are a few other leads we're running down to tie him to Walker. Jorge was careful in his dealings, but Walker wasn't. I think we'll be able to build a good case against him for Axle's and the bodyguard's murders. Before it's over, we hope to tie him to the death of the maid, too.”

“Good. We'll use this to see if we can get him to talk about the Lions of Texas and the drug-running operation in more detail. So far he isn't talking. I'm handing over the information to Gisella from the flash drive concerning the reference we determined was about Boot Hill, Texas. I'm sending her there to follow up on what the numbers mean. How Boot Hill fits into the drug-running operation. We know that Axle imported produce from Mexico with drugs hidden in them. How did they get across the border undetected? There are still a lot of questions involved in this case, but at least we've figured out who murdered Axle Hudson.”

“And the flash drive has produced some more leads for us to follow on the distribution end.” Daniel rose.

“So it was worth our time and manpower to find that information.”

“Yes, now that I know Oliver will recover from the attempt to poison him.” Daniel headed for the door. “We're one step closer to discovering who killed Captain Pike. I
won't be satisfied until we can bring that person in and round up the whole Lions of Texas organization.” Although they had identified a few of the people, including some high-ranking ones like Tyler Madison and Jorge Cantana, Daniel was sure there were more out there and their power was far reaching.

Coming out of Ben's office, Daniel nearly ran right into Gisella. “I just heard about your new assignment in Boot Hill, Texas. When do you leave?”

“Right after Christmas. I'm going to assist the DEA in tracking down the ring working in that area.”

Christmas. In a couple of days. The thought of the approaching holiday made him think about Melora and Kaitlyn. About his son. “I'm glad all that happened to Melora might produce some real leads to Captain Pike's murderer.”

“So am I. I hated having to say goodbye to Kaitlyn and Melora this morning, but I'm happy they aren't in any more danger.”

“How is she?”

“Kaitlyn is as cute as ever. If she has her way the house would be full of animals. She's trying to talk her mother into getting a dog for Christmas.” Gisella's eyes danced with mischief.

“How about Melora?”

“Okay. She hasn't said much. She's been spending a lot of time with Kaitlyn but no one else.”

He wanted to go to her, demand she let him into her life, but after the trauma she'd been through, he needed to give her some space. And he needed to get his own life in order, which meant he had to see Clay and continue the conversation they started that evening at Melora's. “Thanks for your help with them. Have a nice holiday and keep safe in Boot Hill.”

Daniel headed for the exit. His son was playing in a basketball tournament tonight, and he planned to be there in the front row.
Lord, give me the right words to make my son realize how much I love him.

 

Standing in the tower room, Melora stared out the large bank of windows that gave her a view of her property and the neighbors on both sides of her. The house was totally hers again. Gisella had left a while ago. She and Kaitlyn were safe. Her life would return to normal.

A sound—not really a laugh—spilled from her mouth. Normal. What was that? She didn't think she would ever feel that again.

After three days of recuperating from the past few weeks' ordeal, she didn't feel normal. Contrary, she was more lost than before.

Because she loved Daniel. She'd thought once she got back to her house and fully realized everything was over, those feelings would die, that she'd begun to care about him because he'd kept her and Kaitlyn safe. Nothing else.

She'd been wrong. Daniel was everything Axle hadn't been.

But could she go to Daniel with the betrayals she'd experienced? How could she move on? People who had been a big part of her life had deceived her.

Lord, I need help. What do I do?

Whatever she did, she couldn't do it alone. She headed down the stairs to the second floor and her bedroom. Inside she found her Bible, sat in a chair near the window and began to read. She needed answers.

 

“Dad?”

Daniel pivoted toward Clay coming off the school gym
floor after warm-ups. “Hi.” Suddenly, he felt awkward, the words he needed to say vanishing from his mind.

“I wasn't expecting you. I thought you were tied up with that big case. I heard about what happened at the hospital and how you saved Melora.”

“I've been wrapping everything up, but I wanted to see you play tonight. After the game, can we go out and talk?”

“I was gonna go out with some friends.” Clay's defenses began to fall in place, a shutter closing over his expression. His body stiffened.

Daniel stepped closer in the crowd waiting for the first game in the tournament to start and lowered his voice, “Please. I have a lot to make up for.”

His son blinked, surprise widening his eyes.

“I don't want our relationship to continue as it has. I love you, son.”

Clay started to say something, but no words came out of his mouth. He glanced toward his coach who was signaling the players to gather in a circle around him. “I've gotta go. But I'll meet you afterward.”

Daniel watched as his son and the other players bowed their heads then stacked their hands on top of each other's before breaking up with a cheer. Clay caught his gaze and gave him a half smile. Realizing he was still standing, Daniel shook the stunned sensation from himself and sat in the first row. Hope flared in him. Maybe he and Clay could work out this floundering relationship.