The past few days weighed her down, and she closed her eyes against the relentless
images. The threat to Kade’s family. Acknowledging her love for Kade. The pregnancy.
So tired. Her thoughts moved to the only close friend she had who had gone through
a pregnancy. She remembered how exhausted Theresa Cortez had been in her first trimester.
The woman could hardly keep her head up or food down for three months, practically
from the day she’d gotten pregnant.
Thunder rumbled outside as Kelsey snuggled into the pillow and drank in Kade’s earthy
scent, which clung to the sheets. She needed to keep her promise to him and get to
the B and B so he wouldn’t worry. She would just rest a minute longer. The heaviness
in her limbs dragged her further down, deeper and deeper, until darkness enveloped
her.
***
When Kade arrived at the station, he headed straight to Miguel Martinez’s office.
“Everything okay?” Miguel asked, his green eyes narrowed. He sat at his desk, resting
his chin on his steepled fingers.
“Got my family off to Frisco.” With a frustrated sigh, Kade ran his hand over his
head. “Kelsey refused to go because she wants to finish her damn feature. But she
agreed to stay at a hotel in Bisbee.”
Miguel frowned. “A man matching Gordo’s description was seen in the vicinity of the
phone booth the call was placed from yesterday. Again, Jose Hernandez. I put Sal and
Don on him, but they’ve come up empty.”
Fury simmered in Kade’s gut. “What about Bull Stevens?”
“Everything’s been quiet at his ranch.” Rubbing his palm over his stubbled cheeks,
Miguel added, “But we tapped an interesting phone call yesterday that might connect
him to the threat.”
Kade clenched the back of a chair, his knuckles white against the dark upholstery.
Before he could respond, Daryl Jones paged him over the intercom.
“Phone call on line six for Agent Owen.”
Miguel pointed to the telephone. “Take it here.”
Kade grabbed the receiver. “Owen.”
“This is Juarez,” the informant said in Spanish. His voice trembled. “I have information
concerning those who wish to do your family harm.”
Clenching the phone in his hand, Kade said, “What do you know?”
“Mario’s at noon. Come alone.”
The line went dead.
***
“I think another agent should go in with you,” Miguel said again when it was time
for Kade to head to Mario’s. “We can put someone in undercover.”
“It’s only an informant,” Kade replied. “It’s a public place.”
“But it’s the first time he’s insisted you come alone, correct?” Miguel said.
“Juarez isn’t a concern.” Kade shook his head. “If anyone goes inside with me it’ll
scare him too much to talk.”
Miguel picked up his frog paperweight and ran his thumb over the smooth glass. “I’ll
have a couple of vehicles keep an eye out as they drive by.”
Kade nodded and headed out of the building, then strode through the rain to his truck.
The drive took less than five minutes, and right at noon, he took his regular booth
at Mario’s Cantina. He shook rain from his hair and combed it back with his fingers.
Mari didn’t appear to be working, and another waitress took his order.
Fifteen minutes later, Kade checked his watch. Juarez was late, which wasn’t like
him. He studied the regulars, several of whom were already bombed off their asses,
and it was barely after noon. Speaking of noon, he should have heard from Kelsey by
now. Outside the open door, relentless monsoon rains pounded the sidewalk. A breeze
swirled in, the scent of rain mingling with the cantina’s odors of cigarettes and
alcohol.
Another ten minutes passed and unease twisted in Kade’s gut. Something wasn’t right.
He stood to leave and dropped a five on the table, then caught the smell of cheap
perfume.
“Senor.” Mari came up to him and laid her hand on his arm, her dark eyes wide and
lips trembling. “A man. You were here with him before. He is in the kitchen and asked
that you come at once.”
Hair rose at Kade’s nape. “His name?”
“Juarez.” Her gaze darted to the back room and then to Kade again. “He said that he
cannot risk being seen out here.”
Keeping his right hand close to the Glock holstered at his side, Kade followed Mari
through the doorway. The kitchen floor was littered with scraps and smelled of sour
beer and stale grease. He glanced behind him as they turned a corner, then back to
Mari.
She stopped in front of a dingy room. Kade caught a glimpse of papers piled on a desk
and an empty chair.
Her eyes darted toward the office. “He’s in here, senor.”
As he eased up to the office, an enormous man rounded the doorway. Before Kade had
a chance to react, he saw the flash of metal. Blinding pain splintered his head as
the man slammed the butt of an automatic onto the side of his skull.
The crack of thunder jarred Kelsey awake and she bolted upright. “Kade,” she cried,
holding her hand to her pounding heart.
Panic clawed its way up her throat.
She glanced at the digital clock on the bureau. Twelve thirty? How had she slept so
late? She took a deep breath, then exhaled. Nothing was wrong. It was just the time
making her nervous. She’d promised Kade she would go to Bisbee and she should have
been gone already.
A flash of lighting and another rumble sent shock waves through her. Thunderclouds
darkened the sky and rain poured in thick sheets.
She needed to call Kade. Let him know she was running late.
Still naked, Kelsey scrambled out of bed and grabbed Kade’s robe. His scent enveloped
her as she tied the belt and looked for her cell phone. He’d just given it back to
her... There. She snatched it up and called his cell phone. No answer. More panic
grabbed hold of her, and she hurried to the study, where she flipped through the card
file. She dialed his work number and tapped her fingers as she waited for an answer.
“Border Patrol. Daryl Jones here.”
“This is Kelsey Nichols. Is Kade Owen available?”
“Nope,” the agent said. “He’s out of the station right now. Do you want to leave a
message?”
“Yes.” She closed her eyes. “Please tell him I’m running late and probably won’t be
leaving the ranch until after one. I’ll call him later.”
After Daryl repeated the message, she hung up and took another deep breath. Kade was
fine. She just needed to get to Bisbee so he wouldn’t worry.
Kelsey hurried to take a shower and then packed enough clothes for four days. She
French-braided her hair to keep it out of her face. After putting on her bra and panties,
she pulled one of Kade’s blue T-shirts over her head. It was baggy on her but made
her smile when she smelled his wonderful scent. Then she tugged on loose jeans, socks,
and tennis shoes.
When she was ready, she grabbed her laptop bag, purse, and suitcase, locked the front
door, and headed through the rain to Sadie’s SUV. The rottweiler trailed after her.
Kelsey tossed everything onto the floorboard of the passenger side and slammed the
door shut.
She rounded the vehicle and grabbed the handle to open the driver’s side door when
Roxie’s bark caused her to jump. The dog bounded into the driveway and growled. The
sound grew more ominous and threatening as Roxie stared down the road that led to
the ranch.
Kelsey’s heart thudded as the dog’s deep-throated bark pierced the rain. Then she
saw it. A car she didn’t recognize tearing up the dirt road, about a quarter mile
away.
Oh, my God. What if it was the men who had threatened Kade?
She thought about jumping into the SUV but knew the car could cut her off before she
made it to the main road. With only stunted paloverde and mesquite bushes surrounding
the property, there would be no place to hide a vehicle, and they would see her before
she had a chance to get far.
Kelsey spun and ran onto the lawn, toward the front door. No. Not the house. If those
were the men after Kade’s family, the house would be the first place they would look.
The ranch was so far from town that no one would have a chance to get there before
anything happened.
She dodged around the house and eyed the barn. No, she was likely to sneeze so much
they would hear her.
Trent’s hideout.
Wet leaves and branches slapped her face as she raced through the orchard and into
the windbreak. Her foot slid on the wet grass and she tumbled to the ground. Without
pause, she scrambled to her feet and hurried on until she reached the playhouse. She
scurried through the door and collapsed onto the floor. Trembling, she struggled to
catch her breath.
“Calm down, Kelsey,” she murmured as she wiped rain and mud from her face onto her
sleeve. “It’s probably neighbors coming to visit Chuck and Sadie. You’re overreacting.”
But even as she said the words, her gut told her differently. The same instinct that
told her Kade was in trouble.
“I need to try to call Kade—”
Kelsey put her hand to her forehead. Her phone. She’d left it with everything else
on the floorboard of the SUV.
In the distance she heard a car’s engine and squeaking brakes. Roxie continued to
bark, more ferociously than Kelsey had ever heard her before. A sound like a gunshot
echoed across the yard and the dog yelped.
Silence.
Kelsey clapped her hand to her mouth.
No.
Her entire body shook and she wanted to curl up in a ball and hide. But she needed
to see who was out there. Needed to figure out what to do. As she scooted closer to
the window, she remembered Trent’s binoculars. Fortunately, she didn’t have to dig
far into the toy box to find them. Kneeling, she brought the binoculars to her eyes
and pushed open the shutters, just far enough to allow her to see.
At first Kelsey saw nothing, but as she adjusted the lenses, the image of an enormous
man swam into view. It was the man who’d almost run her off the road on John Stevens’s
ranch. The name Gordo popped into her mind—it had to be the man Stevens had been talking
to on his cell phone.
Beside Gordo was a man whose face reminded her of a lizard. Lizard was waving a handgun
and pointing to the house. Gordo shook his head and walked to Sadie’s SUV. He yanked
open the door, searched the vehicle, then slammed the door shut again. Lizard gestured
to the muddy ground. Gordo nodded and they both started across the lawn toward the
house.
The two men reached the front door and jiggled the handle. Kelsey heard the faint
sound of glass shattering as Lizard used the butt of his gun to break a glass pane
in the door. He reached through the broken glass, unlocked it, and walked into the
house.
Anger churned in her stomach. How dare they violate Kade’s home? She kept the binoculars
trained on the house, occasionally catching glimpses of the men through the windows.
Searching for her or one of Kade’s family members.
Kelsey set down the binoculars and pressed her palms to her temples. What should she
do?
Rain beat on the roof of the playhouse and lightning struck so close that for a moment
Kelsey was deafened by its thunder. A rain-drenched breeze swirled around her and
chills crawled up her spine.
How was she going to get out of this alive?
The searing odor of ammonia assaulted Kade’s nostrils and his eyes snapped open. Blinding
light caused him to shut his eyes again, but not before he caught the image of a hand
waving smelling salts under his nose.
His temples throbbed as he struggled to remember where he was and what had happened,
and he had a strange feeling in his head. Like he was underwater.
“Wake up,
amigo.”
Sal’s voice.
Kade brought his hand to his forehead and blinked until he was able to focus. He was
sprawled on the floor of the Cantina’s office, Sal crouched beside him. In the background
he heard the hum of voices, and vaguely made out an agent questioning someone in Spanish.
It sounded like Don Mitchell.
“How many fingers am I holding up?” Sal asked.
“Three, to go along with your three fucking eyes,” Kade mumbled.
Sal grinned and pressed a cloth to Kade’s forehead. “Your pupils are dilated. You’ve
got one hell of a lump and a bruise, but you might get lucky and walk straight in
a few hours.”
Kade took the cloth from Sal and groaned as he eased himself up to sit with his back
against the desk.
“Did you get a look at the guy who hit you?” Sal asked.
Pain slammed into Kade’s head when he tried to nod. “Damn,” he muttered. “I only got
a glimpse, but the guy looked like those surveillance photos of Gordo. Big belly,
handlebar mustache, enormous gold buckle.” Even as the words pierced his head, Kade
said, “Jose Hernandez.”
“Miguel had Don and me drive by to keep an eye out for you. About twelve thirty I
headed in to take a look. When I saw you weren’t in the bar, I called Don for backup
and we found you back here.” He motioned to a pile of ropes beside Kade. “The SOBs
started to bind you, but I must’ve spooked them. They managed to escape out the back
door.”
“It was my own damn fault—I walked right into it.” Kade scrubbed his hand over his
head and winced when his fingers brushed the bump growing at his temple. “What’s the
time?”
Sal checked his watch. “Twelve forty.”
Kade’s shoulders knotted as he thought of Kelsey. She’d probably arrived at the bed-and-breakfast,
so he shouldn’t be worried. He reached into his back pocket for his cell phone, but
it wasn’t there. Probably left it in the truck.
“They pulled this off you but left it on the desk.” Sal handed Kade his Glock. “Must’ve
been in a hurry to get out of here.”
Kade holstered the handgun at his side as he got to his feet. He still felt his second
Glock secured at the back of his waistband but didn’t mention it.
He grabbed the phone on the desk and called the station. When he asked Daryl if there
were any messages for him, Daryl said, “Yeah. Got one from a Kelsey Nichols. Said
she was running late and probably wouldn’t get away from the ranch until after one.”