Desert Bound

by Elizabeth Hunter

  She blinked and shook her head. “Sorry.”

  Jena shrugged. “What’s on your mind? Work stuff? Friend stuff? Alex stuff?”

  She ignored the last one and said, “Marcus stuff. What’s Caleb asking Allie about?”

  They were sitting in Jena’s kitchen. Her dad was working the diner that afternoon, giving Jena a much needed break from the madness.

  “I think he’s talking to her about some of the Joe stuff.” Jena spoke in a low voice. “There’s a lot she didn’t know about.”

  “Like what?”

  “Money. He’d borrowed a lot of money from a lot of people. Marcus was only one of them. The more he digs into Marcus’s past, the more Joe keeps popping up.”

  Ted frowned. “How?”

  “Joe gambled. It sounds like that was part of the reason he and Allie were so broke all the time. And Marcus knew about it. I guess someone heard him threaten Joe that he’d tell Allie about the gambling when he asked Marcus for money. I guess Marcus used to have a problem and he straightened himself out. The guys at his job said he didn’t have much patience for that stuff anymore.”

  “Well, that gives him motive, I guess.”

  “It’s Joe, though!” Ted could see the stricken look in Jena’s face. “Look, he may have turned into a shit husband, but he still loved his kids. He used to be our friend. Used to adore Allie.”

  “And then things got tough and he turned back into the sullen asshole we saw when he was younger. I’m not saying he’s a murderer—”

  “Good.”

  “Marcus was shot in the back, Jena.”

  Jena’s mouth dropped open. She hadn’t known that. “What?”

  “He was shot in the back. Whoever shot him either snuck up on him—which you know would be difficult to do—or Marcus turned his back on him, which means he didn’t think his killer was a threat. And people can do stupid things when they’re desperate.”

  “Was Joe desperate?”

  Ted glanced at the living room door. She could hear Caleb’s low, calming voice and Allie’s sniffles.

  “Allie was the only thing holding that family together. He worked for her dad. And let’s face it, their friends were really her friends. Everyone loves her. If she found out he was gambling their money instead of buying groceries—”

  “She would have freaked. Even if she loved him.”

  “Allie’s a mom. And let’s face it, from what she’s told us, he worked pretty hard to kill her love years ago. She was holding it together for the kids and because she was loyal.”

  Jena said, “But she’s not an idiot.”

  “Not even close. So Marcus telling her about the gambling would probably make him pretty desperate.”

  Jena rested her forehead on her hands. “Oh shit, Ted. This might get really, really bad.”

  Ted put her hand on Jena’s back, but kept her eyes on the doorway where Caleb was comforting Allie. “We’ll make it through. No matter what happened. We’ll be there for her and the kids.”

  “Are you working with Alex on this?” Jena asked quietly.

  “What?”

  “Caleb talks to me. He’s not thrilled about Alex poking his nose in all this, even if Marcus was his friend. And Alex can be a hothead. I’d feel better if I knew you guys were working together on this.”

  Ted snorted. “Cause I calm him down so much?”

  “Hardly, but he listens to you. You’re the only one who ever had any chance of changing his mind once he got fixated on something.”

  “I usually did that by pissing him off. How hard could that be?”

  Jena looked up. “Are you working with him or not?”

  Ted picked up Jena’s left hand and fiddled with the new wedding band that encircled her ring finger. “Do you want to have to lie to him?”

  “No.”

  “Then I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  Jena’s face broke into a reluctant smile. “Right.”

  “And if Alex and I are hanging out more in the coming days it’s because we’re… trying to work on our relationship.”

  She blinked. “Really?”

  “No? I don’t know.”

  “Cause you didn’t sound like you were bullshitting me just then. I mean, a little, but not completely.”

  Ted paused. “I don’t know.”

  “Really?” Jena scooted back in her chair and grinned. “Really?”

  “Why are you so excited about that?”

  “Because we’ve all been waiting months for you to stop slamming the door in his face.”

  “I haven’t done that.” Exactly.

  Jena’s expression said Ted was full of shit, so Ted ignored her.

  “He apologized.”

  “For leaving? Or… not coming back with you, I guess?”

  “No.” Oddly enough, Ted would have resented him apologizing for that. If his motives for staying in LA were important enough to end their relationship, then she didn’t want him apologizing for it. “No, he apologized for hurting me. Said I should know how hard it was to give it up.”

  “Didn’t you?”

  Ted felt the tears behind her eyes, so she just shrugged.

  “Oh honey.”

  “I, uh… I didn’t want you guys talking about him around me. And we avoided each other so much—”

  “He was wrecked, Ted. Every time any of us even mentioned you. Wrecked. And his dad was such an ass about it.”

  “What a surprise.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “My mom never liked us together, either. Said if I was going to get married, it should be new blood. Someone who shouldn’t challenge my authority. Someone I could control.”

  “You’d have no respect for a man like that.”

  “I know.” Ted cleared her throat. “She’s old fashioned.”

  “You and Alex were both hurting. You barely even talked to each other when Lowell died.”

  Jena’s late husband, Lowell, was Alex’s cousin. They were close and losing him must have torn Alex apart. Ted had known it. But she’d been hurt so badly by their break up that she’d barely had it in her to give Alex a hug, much less talk to him after Lowell’s death.

  “I was a shit friend to him, Jen. Even if we weren’t together anymore—”

  “He understood.”

  He would. She felt a nudge against her walls. But this time, the nudge wasn’t coming from outside, but in.

  “It’s hard,” she said. “Hard to trust him. Open up again. I feel like we’ve been at each other’s throats for so long, it’s become a habit.”

  Jena slid her arm around Ted’s shoulders. “You guys had something special. Everyone saw it. Even your families. That’s probably why they never supported you. Shifters are clannish jerks and we don’t like sharing loyalty.”

  “Yeah.”

  “But open the door a little. Just a crack. At least see if there’s something still there you want to explore.”

  Ted debated, then asked, “Would being naked in his bed last night count as opening a door?”

  “What?”

  Ted had the radio turned up as loud as she could stand it. Dropkick Murphys poured out of the wireless speaker attached to her phone, and after she filled out the last of these vaccination reminder cards and mailed them, shipping up to Boston sounded like a brilliant idea. She didn’t hear the front door, but she sensed him standing in the doorway. She could feel his eyes on her back.

  She let the song finish, completed the last card, then turned the radio down to spin around on her stool. Alex was standing in the doorway, still wearing his hot-as-hell aviators and a dusty grey shirt rolled up to the elbows. Gone were the pressed slacks and the slick hair he’d sported for years when he lived in L.A. He looked like a desert boy again. He needed a haircut something awful, and she wished it didn’t look so good on him. She also wished his grin didn’t stand out quite so brilliantly on his tan face.

  “Up,” Alex said, tossing his sunglasses on her desk.

&nb
sp; “Why?”

  He pulled her by the elbows and set her to the side before he sat on the old fashioned metal stool and rolled to the center of the room.

  “My turn on the spinny stool.”

  She couldn’t help laughing. Alex held on to the edge of the seat and spun like a school boy, tilting his head up so he didn’t get dizzy.

  “Tell the truth, Vasquez. You became a doctor so you had a legitimate reason to buy a spinny stool.”

  “How has no one guessed it before now? You see right through me.”

  He laughed, then paused, leaned over, and grabbed her around the waist.

  “Alex!” she squealed as he pulled her onto his lap.

  Ted’s instinct was to jump up. Leap away from him. But she remembered Jena’s advice.

  “Open the door… just a little.”

  She hooked her legs around Alex’s and closed her eyes when he started spinning them faster and faster.

  “Hold on.”

  “You’re going to make us both sick.”

  He just laughed again. Ted felt a smile sneak across her lips.

  “You love it,” he whispered, sneaking a nip at her earlobe.

  She did. Not that she was going to tell him that. But she did let herself laugh. Ted laughed until her sides hurt and her head spun.

  “Stop,” she gasped after a few more breathless minutes. “Stop, Alex. Please.”

  He stopped, but didn’t let her go. He held her around the waist and put his cheek against hers when she let her head fall back to rest on his shoulder.

  “I love that you still listen to Dropkick Murphys,” he said.

  “How could I not? The Gang’s All Here.”

  “Rocky Road to Dublin.”

  “Shipping Up to Boston.”

  He lifted his head and nudged her chin so she was looking at him. His hand slipped down to her hip, his thumb tracing over the edge. “Rose Tattoo.”

  Ted felt the flush in her cheeks at the memory. He’d been there when she got it.

  “I never thanked you for introducing me to them.”

  “You’re welcome. Do I get another kiss today?”

  “It was a moment of weakness.”

  “It was hot. Don’t even lie to me that you’re not thinking about it.”

  She resisted the urge to jump up. She wasn’t a nervous girl. She needed to think, not react.

  Her voice was low when she finally said, “I’m thinking about it.”

  “I’ll take that.” He nudged her up to standing and then stood himself. “Okay, play time over. Are you done with work? I had an errand I thought we could run together.”

  “I have some charting to do, then I’m free.”

  He shoved the stool toward her, then grabbed a chair. “Chart away. I can wait for a few and answer some e-mail. Or is there anything I can help with?”

  She looked up, surprised at his offer. “Not really. But thanks. Why don’t you go lay down in my office. You look tired.”

  He shook his head and couldn’t hold back the yawn. “If I close my eyes, they won’t open again for a while.”

  “Early days?”

  He nodded. “We’ve got some time to make up. And having Marcus gone makes things harder. Josie’s brother is still tied up at their last job. His foreman is good, but he’s not Marcus.”

  “No, I imagine not.”

  She started to pull out the files she needed, hand-jotted notes attached on sticky papers she used when she saw patients. She was just at the edge of needing to hire a nurse or physician’s assistant, and she was hoping one of the Springs kids graduating soon would be able to fill the position. There were two or three that she had her eye on. The trick would be luring them back to town instead of more lucrative opportunities elsewhere. She had to admit, the resort opening, along with the new shops and restaurants it could support, would help.

  “Why don’t you have a nurse?” Alex asked.

  “I’ll probably hire one in the next year or so. I’m not so busy that I can’t get away without one right now. We’re a pretty healthy bunch. The human mates are the ones that I see most. Some people still go to see doctors in Indio.”

  “Are you kidding?”

  “Nope. It’s taken me a while to build up the practice I have. Which is fine. I get it.”

  “You came back to the Springs so we’d have our own doctor in town. You were one of the top graduates in your class, you got offers everywhere, and you came back here. Don’t they know how lucky they are?”

  Ted loved that he sounded outraged on her behalf, but she shrugged. “If you’re old and watched me grow up, you probably don’t want me doing your prostate exam, right?”

  Alex was silent for a minute. “I see your point. You still need to hire someone for your paperwork.”

  “I have someone a few hours a week. But some of it’s unavoidable. All our records have to be electronic now.”

  “And the insurance stuff?”

  She groaned. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “The clinic doing okay, money-wise?”

  He was being nosey as hell, but she could tell he was just worried. He’d never doubted her abilities. Plus, his business brain beat hers any day.

  “We’ll be fine.” She smiled, looking over her shoulder. “I keep expenses pretty low.”

  He’d closed his eyes, and she knew he didn’t want to sleep, so she asked him a question.

  “How’s construction going? You going to get back on schedule?”

  He rubbed his eyes. “Yeah. It’ll take a couple weeks and a lot of overtime, but we’ll do it. Once the brother-in-law gets here, we’ll be in better shape. I hope.”

  “He in Vegas?”

  “No, he was overseeing the new construction on the casino.”

  “Oh?” Something struck her. “Do the tribes know this guy’s connected to Marcus?”

  “Probably. I think Marcus is the one who closed the casino deal.”

  The Colorado River Indian Tribes had a good relationship with the people of Cambio Springs. And most of the leaders were aware of the… unusual nature of the fresh spring, along with the town’s secrets.

  “So, does Marcus’s brother in law—”

  “Chris. Name’s Chris Avery.”

  “Does he know about us?”

  “Josie says no.”

  “But do the guys he’s working with over there—the ones who do know about us—know that this Chris guy doesn’t?

  Ted could tell that Alex had the same thought she did, because he sat up straighter and his eyes opened wide.

  “Shit.”

  “I think someone better put the word out to Dev. Maybe find out how open they were with him. If the guys over there think he knows about us—”

  “Then they might not watch what they say.” He nodded, then he made a face. “I guess I’ll call Dev.”

  The corner of her mouth lifted. “I’m not sneaking into Dev’s trailer at night, so stop making that face.”

  Lazy pleasure filled his eyes. “Are you going to make a habit of that? Because I’m fine with that.”

  “You getting rid of the catnip?”

  “No.”

  “Hmmmm.” She shook her head ominously. “Not a point in your favor, McCann.”

  “I’ll take my chances.”

  An hour later, they were bumping in Alex’s truck out to Old Joe Quinn’s house. He lived over the wash and up in the canyon a bit, but you could hardly call his house deserted. Most of the time, he had four or five shifters from his clan hanging around. Ted hoped that they made themselves scarce today. Cats and snakes rarely got along.

  “Why are we visiting Old Quinn again?”

  “How did you start your clinic, Ted?”

  She blinked. “You mean… financially?”

  “Uh huh.”

  “I got some start up money from my mom. And there was a federal grant I applied for that came through. Mayor Matt helped me with that one, actually.”

  Alex nodded. “An
y business takes capital to start, right? Even if it’s a medical clinic. Like that first house I flipped?”

  “Your dad helped out and co-signed. I remember.”

  “Exactly.” Alex picked up speed when he drove through the wash. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, but that didn’t mean anything. Rain fifty miles away could sweep through a desert wash without warning, taking cars, animals, or people in a flash. “You ever ask yourself where Marcus Quinn—who came from a shit family who never supported him—got the money to start a surveying business that was turning a profit within a few years?”

  “Um…” No, she hadn’t even thought about it. “A loan?”

  “With what collateral? He’d been working for a surveyor. Had some trade school experience. But he owned nothing. A bank wasn’t going to loan him money.”

  “So what’s your guess?”

  “At first, I thought Old Quinn must have helped him out. But then I started thinking about it.”

  Ted shook her head. “Old Quinn doesn’t have that kind of money. Not until recently with the land sale for the resort.”

  “You’re right,” Alex said. “Don’t get me wrong. The old guy can make money. I don’t ask how, but he does. And he can read people in a heartbeat. But he’s also got a lot of people in his clan that don’t do shit. And who do you think makes sure all the kids have food and shoes?”

  “Old Quinn.”

  “He’s a godfather to over half of them. And it’s not just an honorary title.”

  It wouldn’t be. For all their shady dealings, most Quinns were staunch Catholics who took family very seriously. They may give each other black eyes and empty wallets, but no one outside the clan did without repercussions.

  “So where’d he get the money?”

  “That’s why we’re going to visit the old guy. I’m hoping he’ll tell me.”

  “And you think that might have something to do with how he died?”

  Alex frowned. “Trust me, Ted. There’s very few people that are going to loan money without collateral. And none of them are people you want to cross.”

  And this was why Caleb Gilbert needed to bend a little and allow Alex into the investigation, even though it wasn’t procedure. But that was okay. If Caleb didn’t get Alex’s insight, Ted would.

  “If he borrowed money from someone,” she said, “it would have been years ago. He’s been in business for longer than he and Josie have been married.”