Finally, Sherri sighed and put her hands over her face. When she looked back up, resignation was written across it. “I don’t know how much help I can be to you. I don’t know where the plant is. Mason kept it supersecret from me. He said he had to be careful because someone already discovered its location once before.”
“Who was that?” Blake asked.
Sherri glanced at her. “It was your husband. Mason said he followed him there one night. That’s when they knew they had to kill him, because he was about to jeopardize their operation.”
Holly’s stomach tightened. She could imagine Jimmy tracking Mason’s movements and following him covertly. To think he’d been so close to uncovering a major drug operation and she’d never known. Anger bit at her again toward Mason and whoever he was working for.
“Who’s the guy in charge?” she asked Sherri.
The young woman shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Holly was frustrated by her lack of information. “How can you not know who you work for?”
“I only deal with Mason. He’s the one who tells me what shipments to conceal and what paperwork needs to disappear. At first, it seemed harmless. By the time I realized what I was involved in, it was too late to get out.”
“I need you to think, Sherri,” Blake said, pressing her for more info. “Did Mason ever say anything that would indicate who was in charge? You may not have even realized it at the time.”
But tears were already sliding down her face and Holly could see she was fast losing her composure. “I don’t know. I just don’t know. He would never tell me. He only threatened me, telling me that he worked for powerful men.” She wiped away tears with the back of her hand. “I have a daughter. She depends on me. He said he would kill her if I didn’t do what he said. At first, I was blown away by the money. I’m a single mother and it really helped, but soon he was wanting me to do more and more. When I protested, he threatened my family and said I was in too deep.”
“Thank you for your honesty, Sherri. Your daughter would be proud of you.”
A tear slid down her cheek but she pushed it away and straightened. “I have to leave,” she said, trying to push Blake away from her car.
“Wait, you’re leaving? Where are you going?”
“I can’t be around you. If Mason finds out I even talked to you, he will kill me.”
Blake stepped forward. “I can’t protect you if you don’t come with us.”
“No, I can’t. I have to go pick up my daughter. I have to get her somewhere safe.”
Blake touched her arm to try to calm her down. “It’s okay. It’s okay. But get somewhere safe, Sherri, because things are about to go south for Mason and his friends.”
She looked at him, her eyes wide with fear. “I understand.”
She got into her car and started the engine, then roared away.
Holly watched Sherri leave and felt their last bit of hope leave with her. “What do we do now?” she asked Blake, but he didn’t look nearly as downtrodden as she felt.
“Sherri just gave us a clue as to where the drug plant is located. She said Jimmy followed Mason there the night before he died.”
He hurried to the car and retrieved the journal. He flipped through it to the back and read the last words her husband had recorded.
“‘Followed Mason a half mile down the causeway, where he turned off and stopped in front of an old repair shop. He remained for only ten minutes then left, returning to his own home for the night. Not sure of his reasons for going there, but it might be worth checking out tomorrow after my shift.’”
Tears were on Holly’s face when Blake finished reading the passage. Jimmy had never completed that shift. He’d been murdered that very night. Was it because of what he’d seen at that repair shop?
“I remember seeing this place he’s talking about on the map of the town, but it didn’t raise any red flags for me at the time. It’s an established business that’s been in operation for over twenty years, according to city records. We should check it out.”
She agreed and they headed for the car. She stopped and turned to him when the phone rang. He glanced at the screen and a frown creased his forehead.
“What’s the matter?”
“It’s Mayor Banks’s cell phone number.” He pressed the answer button and put the phone to his ear.
The frown deepened.
* * *
“Holly? Is that you? You never returned my call,” the voice on the other end said. Blake knew the chief’s voice immediately, but why was he calling from the mayor’s phone and why was he asking for Holly?
“What do you want with her?” Blake asked, and the chief’s voice changed from smooth and amicable to hard as a rock.
“Blake, let’s end this nonsense. Turn yourself in and accept your consequences. Holly shouldn’t be a part of this.”
“I didn’t make her a part of this,” he reminded the chief. “Mason did.”
“As I’ve already told Holly, I can handle Mason.”
His heart sank. Holly had been talking to Chief Waggoner behind his back. He turned to her. Her eyes were wide with curiosity. Anger pulsed through him. “You’ve done an awesome job of controlling him so far. I think he’s doing just what you’ve instructed him to do.”
“Be practical, Blake. There’s no way out. This is my town, and your friends at the DEA can’t change that.”
Blake hated to think he was right. If he couldn’t find the manufacturing plant, Matt and the DEA would not be able to enter. This new lead had promise, but now his head was spinning with the idea that Holly had betrayed him.
“Don’t underestimate me,” he said before hitting the off button on the phone.
Holly was suddenly beside him. “That was Chief Waggoner? What did he say?”
He fisted his hands to keep them from shaking as anger rolled through him like a freight train. He locked eyes with her. “Have you been talking to him behind my back?”
Her mouth dropped open at his angry accusation. “No, of course not. He called the night you were hurt and I did speak with him, but I wasn’t trying to hide it.”
“What did he want?”
She didn’t flinch as she responded to him. “He wanted me to turn you in. He said I could go back to my normal life if I handed you over to him. I told him no.”
Her reassurance should have made him feel better, but it didn’t. Now he was suddenly questioning everything, like why her husband had never told her about his investigation or why she hadn’t noticed anything fishy about the invoice that had been routed to her in error. But mostly, he was wondering if he needed to watch his back. Miranda hadn’t hesitated to turn on her friends for a little bit of money. What, he wondered, was Holly’s price?
As he got into the SUV, he felt like beating his hand against the steering column, but refrained. He wouldn’t be a fool again, but had he fallen for another woman who wasn’t what she seemed? It was Miranda all over again. Was she playing him for a fool? He glanced at her and felt his heart clench. He couldn’t believe it...but then, he hadn’t been able to believe in Miranda, either.
He lifted a silent prayer. Lord, have I messed up again? Pastor Dave had helped him to realize that he’d not been listening to God when he was involved with Miranda. He’d claimed to be a good, Christian man who loved the Lord, but it hadn’t been reflected in his life. If he’d been focusing on the Lord instead of on his own feelings, he might have seen Miranda for what she really was.
He sighed. That was all in the past. He’d mourned his loss with her and moved on...or so he thought. But each glance at the dark-haired beauty beside him filled him with suspicion. How could he even trust what he felt for her? How could he be sure he could trust her? He didn’t trust himself and that was the problem. He couldn’t trust his own judgment
anymore when it came to women. He saw deceit everywhere he looked.
He pulled in a deep, calming breath and felt the peace of the Lord settle over him. He didn’t have to trust in Holly. He only had to trust in what God had given him and he was trying, really trying. But that nagging doubt kept pushing its way to the front of his mind.
He pulled out the cell phone and hit the redial button. Matt answered a moment later.
“I may have the location of the manufacturing plant. We’re on our way there now.”
“I’ll have satellite imagery confirm this so I need those coordinates when you arrive. While they’re doing that, I’ll work up a plan to get you both out of there.”
Blake nodded and said tersely, “The sooner the better.”
Holly looked at him as he hung up with Matt. “How long will it take the DEA to act?”
“They’ll have to confirm the location before the higher-ups will approve breaching the town’s lockdown. Once that’s done, they’ll put together a team to come in. Chief Waggoner will have no choice but to allow them in.”
She sighed. “Legally, he might be obligated, but he’s a criminal. Who’s to say he won’t just start shooting when they try to cross the bridge?”
Blake nodded. “He might, but I can guarantee the DEA has men trained to face situations like this. Matt is a former Ranger and I know for certain he’s dealt with men like Chief Waggoner before. He’ll try negotiating first, but if that doesn’t work, he won’t just give up.” He didn’t add that Matt also wouldn’t give up on him. Blake knew he could depend on his friend to help him out of this mess. He wouldn’t abandon him, no matter what. He could trust the Rangers above everyone else. But could he trust Holly? That was the real question.
He hated that his mind immediately went to distrust, but those nagging doubts were flooding back to him. He was finally beginning to trust her and now this. He tried to push those doubts away. She wasn’t Miranda and it wasn’t fair to judge her by the same standards, but he couldn’t shake the feeling.
Lord, I’m worried. Can I trust what I’m feeling for Holly?
He wanted to believe she was all she claimed to be.
* * *
The silence in the car was deafening as Blake drove. He seemed tense and distant as they headed out of town toward the old boat dock. Gone was the assured self-confidence she’d come to know in him. He seemed like a stranger beside her and she no longer felt the assurance that it was okay to reach out and touch him. She didn’t like the change in him, and she knew what had caused it. Chief Waggoner’s phone call.
“I wasn’t keeping it from you,” she insisted.
His jaw clenched. “Well, you weren’t being very forthcoming with it either, were you?”
“Are you really doubting me because of a phone call?”
“No, it’s more than that. There were signs and I should have seen them. Your own husband didn’t trust you enough to tell you about his investigation. Plus, by your own admission, you saw that invoice and didn’t do anything about it.”
Tears pressed against her eyes but she blinked them back. She wouldn’t cry in front of him. It hurt to have him doubt her. They were supposed to be on the same side. They were both fighting against Mason and the drug ring.
She remembered the conversation they’d had about Miranda and how she’d betrayed him. She’d scarred him, caused him to doubt his own judgment. It hurt that he now saw her lumped in with someone who’d betrayed him.
“I don’t know what I can say to change your mind about me. All I can do is assure you that it isn’t true. I don’t know why Jimmy kept this from me, but I suspect it was because he worried for my safety. He knew what he was doing was dangerous. And if you really want the truth then, yes, I was very briefly tempted by Chief Waggoner’s offer, but I turned it down partly because I know he can’t be trusted, but mainly because I could never leave you, Blake. I thought you knew me better than that after all we’ve been through together.”
He sighed and rubbed his face then looked at her. She saw confusion cloud his blue eyes. “I thought I knew you. Now I’m not so sure.”
Her heart broke at his words. She’d thought she’d finally found someone she could open her heart to and love again. But she wouldn’t be with someone who didn’t believe in her.
NINE
Blake pulled out his binoculars and looked around the area. Just as he’d expected, he saw the telltale signs of drug manufacturing at the repair shop—blacked-out windows, burned grassy areas and a large venting system on the far wall.
“They’re cooking something in there,” Blake said then realized no one was there to hear him. Holly was still sulking in the SUV, well out of earshot. Maybe it was for the best. She probably needed time to cool off. So did he.
He took out his cell phone and called Matt, giving him the exact coordinates for the satellite using an app he’d downloaded.
“Be sure to wave at the camera,” Matt joked, but Blake knew he was nervous. He was having a difficult time dealing with the men responsible for approving this mission. He needed this satellite imagery to return something helpful. “And tell Holly I said not to worry. I can’t wait to meet the woman who’s brought you back to life again.”
Blake gave a weary sigh. “Well...”
“What happened? I thought you said she was terrific.”
“I thought she was.”
“Talk to me, Blake. Something happened in the last few hours to change your mind about her. I want to know what it was.”
“It was nothing. Okay, it was something. I found out that Holly has been talking to Chief Waggoner and I didn’t know it.” Blake pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose. “She says she wasn’t trying to keep it from me. I don’t know. I want to trust her.”
“Then trust her.”
“What if she’s playing me? What if I’m seeing only what I want to see, Matt? I’ve got to tell you, I’ve fallen for this gal hard. What am I going to do if she’s not who she says she is?”
Matt’s tone grew calm but serious. “You’re going to pick yourself back up again and you’re going to keep going. It’s all you can do. Look, Blake, I don’t know everything that happened between you and Miranda, but only God can ever really know a person’s heart. Are you listening to His guidance or your own?”
Blake turned and stared at Holly, who was slumped in the seat, arms folded and a hurt expression on her face. He felt an overwhelming sense of love for her. But it had happened so fast and he just wasn’t sure.
He had been trying to keep his ear attuned to the Lord’s words and each prayer he prayed seemed to lead him right back to Holly. He had to admit, he felt at home with her in a way that shouldn’t make any sense since they’d been running for their lives the entire time he’d known her. But he’d seen her under pressure and that kind of intensity always brought true character to light. So far, he hadn’t seen anything he didn’t like. It was the worry and anxiousness and trying to read between the lines of her words that exhausted him and made him all tense. It was a similar feeling he’d had when he’d heard something about Miranda. He hadn’t had to wonder if it was true. He’d known it was. Miranda hadn’t hidden her desires for wealth and money and a better lifestyle. He’d only downplayed them because he’d wanted to fit her into the model for his picture-perfect life.
“Listen,” Matt continued. “It’s not like you have to make a decision today. We’ll get you two out and you can spend a few weeks or months really getting to know her before you decide you’re in love with her.”
But that was the rub, wasn’t it? He already was in love with her. It had happened without his consent. She’d stolen his heart. She already had the power to devastate him and he’d handed it to her without even a struggle.
“Show me your hands now!” a voice shouted.
&nbs
p; Blake spun around and saw a group of men emerge from the woods, weapons raised as they surrounded Blake.
“Who are you?” one of them asked. “What are you doing here?”
“Drop the phone,” another demanded and Blake dropped it to the ground, leaving the line open for Matt to hear what was happening.
Holly jumped from the SUV and started to run, but one of the men grabbed her and dragged her toward Blake. His mind shot off a slew of different ways he would hurt the man if he harmed Holly. But the next instant had him wondering if she’d used the time while he was on the phone with Matt to alert the people inside that they were out there.
The man patted Blake down and pulled out his gun, slipping it into his own belt. “Call the boss, tell him we found the guy and girl he was looking for sneaking around the shop.” He looked at Blake and shook his head. “You’re both in for it now. The boss will want to meet with you both personally right before he kills you.”
Blake glanced at Holly and saw fear in her face. Fear that their time had just run out.
All of his anger and rage burst through him as a vehicle skidded to a stop and Mason jumped out. Blake wasn’t surprised he’d gotten free of the zip-tie cuff where they’d left him. He was resourceful, but this man had tried to take everything from him and had taken everything from Holly.
He knew the truth as Mason confronted him. He wanted his life back. He wanted to be out of this nightmare and back on his acreage, rocking on his back porch and watching the sun set. And he knew he wanted Holly by his side. No use denying it any longer. He had fallen for her. He could picture a life with her and it was a life that he wanted. He didn’t want to doubt anymore. He didn’t want to spend the rest of his life waiting for the other shoe to drop. She could wound him and she might, but he couldn’t continue living this way.
Mason threw a punch and Blake swerved, missing it then returning with a fist to his gut. He rebounded, grabbing Blake’s arm and twisting it. Pain ripped through that shoulder. Mason knew just how to hurt him and he fought dirty. He had no honor. He was no better than the injustice Blake had fought overseas.
Mission Undercover Page 14
