by Diana Downey
“I have a girlfriend.” This sucks. I can either choose prison and no Cyn, or dating Niki and freedom, not much of a choice. Even if I don’t sleep with Niki, Cyn won’t have anything to do with me because I won’t be able to tell her the truth.
“Miss Diaz has her own issues she needs to deal with. She won’t be available for perhaps a long time.”
What the hell is he talking about? “What do you mean? Loki was trying to kill her.”
“We cannot discuss her situation with you, but a chopper will be by in the morning to pick her up.”
I don’t like the sound of this. “I’ll let her know.” I turn off the VHF and walk down the hall to find Cyn, I lose no matter what choice I make, and I don’t want to lose Cyn.
“Let’s go have a drink,” I say, rubbing my beard I trimmed after our shower. I’ll remove it before returning to Texas.
“What did he say?”
I fold her into my arms because losing her was never what I wanted. I waited until she was eighteen and then another three years until she fell into my arms, and I don’t want to let go. “The honeymoon is over. The feds plan on picking you up tomorrow.”
“Well, that’s good. I can check on my sister and—”
I brace her shoulders. “They said you had issues?”
She looks at me curiously. “Like my kidnapping?”
“They didn’t say, and eluded that it was something more.”
“I don’t know what.” She kisses me, and it makes my decision all the harder. “I could use a drink.”
After we shrug on our parkas, I lead Cyn to the only place open, Sally’s, where a few snowmobiles are parked out front. The northern lights glow in colorful ribbons across the evening sky.
Cyn palms a hitching post. “Where are the horses or should I say reindeer?”
“They’re in their stalls. Come on.” I sling my arm around her and pull her close. I love the way she smells and tastes. There must be a way to keep her and pay off the IRS.
After I shuffle across the bar, pain shooting up my leg every time I put weight on it, I sit at a table leveled by a matchbook under one of its legs while Cyn takes the other seat next to me. Lindsey drops her bar rag and hurries over. When she plops down on my lap, I wince when her cherry-picking ass lands on my stitches.
I bite down the pain while she wiggles her ass on my wounded thigh. “You may want to get off me before my girlfriend tosses you across the bar and you reopen my stitches.” I do like women with a nice ass, but Cyn’s is much better, firm yet plump.
Lindsey’s head swivels around to stare at Cyn. “Her?”
My shoulder muscles tense. Past girlfriends are never good subjects to entertain. “Yes, this is Cyn.”
Lindsey curls her lips. “I’d heard you broke up with your girlfriend, and you like blondes.” Lindsey’s a strawberry blonde, but her words form a smirk on Cyn’s lips.
“I’ve never had a preference,” I say.
Cyn finally chuckles at Lindsey’s sniping, which relaxes me a bit. “Do you think they’d suspect me if she went missing?” Cyn asks.
I push Lindsey off my lap, and she gives me a foul look. “We’ll make sure the body’s never found. Would you get us bourbon on the rocks?”
Half snarling, Lindsey flicks the rag at me. “Yes, master.” She returns shortly with our drinks, eyeing over Cyn like she’s the dirt beneath her feet.
I don’t know what’s up her ass because Lindsey dumped me, and she must not know I killed her brother yet. They’ll be hell to pay when she finds out.
When she finally leaves, Cyn and I clink our glasses together. “To you, Princess.”
“To you, Shane.” And there’s the big smile I fell for years ago that now belongs to me.
Three guys I worked with on the pipeline stroll over, setting their beers on the table next to us.
“Already traded in your fiancée?” Leon says between guzzling beer and letting it drip into his beard. “With all that dough, you must have them crawling all over you.”
Cyn sips her bourbon, staring into it, probably thinking about Blake when I wish she’d only think of me.
“Not really,” I say.
“Have you told Lindsey about her brother?” Leon must’ve been listening on the police frequency.
“Don’t mention it.” She’ll go after me with a knife again.
“Please don’t mention what?” Lindsey asks, delivering another round of beers for the guys.
“Nothing,” Leon mumbles while the rest look down into their beers. Everyone fears the fiery wrath of Lindsey.
She slams down the beer, sloshing it all over Leon. “Tell me now.”
“It’s nothing,” he says. “Honest.”
She whips out a blade from her boot and holds it to his throat. “Tell me. Now.”
“Shane killed your brother,” Leon says.
“What the hell?” Her face catches fire, reddening to the point of exploding.
“I had to,” I say.
As I prepare for her to attack me, Lindsey goes for Cyn’s throat. Before I can react, Cyn stands, picks up her chair, and stabs its legs at Lindsey. Cyn punches her in the stomach with the chair, knocking the wind out of her and the knife out of her hand. Using the chair’s legs, she pins Lindsey’s throat. I’ve always admired Cyn’s inner strength.
“Your brother killed my mother,” Cyn spits out. “I’m glad he’s dead.”
I pick up the knife and pocket it. “I’ll give this to Sally before we leave. Your brother was involved with Cyn’s abduction. It couldn’t be helped.”
“Julian wouldn’t harm a dog tick,” Lindsey says, wiping tears from her blue eyes.
“Your uncle Loki must’ve talked him into it.” I never thought of Julian as violent, but Lindsey is one crazy bitch.
As Cyn lowers the chair, Leon and the guys give her the head to toe. “That’s quite the woman you got there, Shane. Maybe she should come home with a real man tonight.”
“Never.” Cyn’s face boils with rage as she storms away.
Dammit. Lindsey slinks back to the bar while Sally gives her a warning glare.
Leon takes another swig. “Looks like you’re not getting any tonight.”
“Shit.” I run after Cyn and grab her arm. “Look, I’m sorry about them.”
“Can we have a couple drinks and go?” Tears burst from those dark eyes that I wipe away. “I want to go home.”
“Come on.” I pick up our drinks and take her to a dark corner of the bar. She’s worn out, and from the lost look in her eyes, I worry she’s thinking about Blake.
After we finish our first round and start on the second, Wendell walks into the bar, comes to our table, and swings a chair around backward to sit. “Red’s home. Does the trouble with Miss Diaz have anything to do with him?”
“Yeah,” I say.
“Red’s son?”
I nod. “Let me tell Dad.”
“Sure. Your dad and Julie are waiting at home.”
When we return to the cabin, Dad is thumbing through a scrapbook filled with photos of us growing up. I kiss Cyn on the cheek. “I’ll be in in a minute.”
She nods, swinging that beautiful ass toward my bedroom where I’d like to tie her to the bed and keep her here forever.
When I plop down by Dad, pain shoots across my leg. “Hey.”
“I remember when I adopted Red. He was seven. He never knew his real father.”
His biological father left Mom after Red was born and then landed in jail. “There we are in Kodiak.” We’d all gone hunting there before the grizzly mauled and killed Sky.
I sit up and reminisce with Dad and all it does is bring back the memories of Sky’s and Red’s deaths. I have to kill that damn bear. I won’t let it live. It’s how we’ll put our losses to rest and hopefully we’ll heal.
When I pass Julie’s room, I hear her sobs, so I open the door. “Hey.” What else can I say? I never told Dad the truth about how I ran into Red in the first place, though I
’d told Dad about Cyn’s kidnapping. Now I need to figure out how to get money for Red’s kid because he’s my responsibility now.
After I sit next to her on the bed, she leans her head against my shoulder. “Oh, Shane. I miss him.”
I never thought I’d lose Red too. “I do too.”
“Have you told Dad about losing all the money?”
Using the back of her hand, Julie wipes tears away. “I know who Cynthia Diaz is. How are you going to hold onto a woman like her? The Waits family she married has a stock portfolio as long as the Trump’s. She’s used to being wined and dined. Frankly, I was surprised she survived a week in the interior.”
I think of the woman who dug me out of the ice and snow, the one I can’t wait to lay next to. “She did fine. She saved my ass a few times.”
“Really?” Julie shakes her head. “She doesn’t look like an outdoor girl. Maybe you should compromise for her. I like her, but you have to ask yourself, if she’ll change for you. You’re a stubborn asshole. Of course, Lindsey’s available.” She pokes my side.
“She cheated on me, and she’s insane.” There’s no way I’ll go back to her.
“Even without makeup, Cyn looks like Spanish royalty. She’s used to having it all, and she will never go for living on a river alongside a bunch of beer-guzzling men. I don’t think I could do it.”
I’ve been fooling myself, and I need to focus on getting out of my own mess.
With my head in my hands, I know what I should do. I should let her go, but if I manage to pay off my debts, just maybe, I’ll have a shot at being able to afford the high maintenance princess I’ve fallen for.
Chapter Twenty-nine
Cyn
While Shane and I wait in the blowing cold for the chopper, he holds onto me. There’s a shine in his eyes as his embrace tightens.
He wants to chase the stupid bear before he returns to Austin. I shouldn’t be hard on him though. The grizzly has killed two of his brothers. Revenge is something I don’t understand.
He also told me he’d be working with the feds to pay off his debt in order to avoid prison, so he’s saying goodbye, but from his firm grip on me, he doesn’t want to. What do I want? He wants to live on the Kenai.
Backpacking through the interior has sharpened my senses and strengthened me—body and mind. Even given the dull aches in my muscles, I feel alert and alive, and standing next to Shane heightens my sexual needs. How do I say goodbye to chocolate—rich, tempting, and fulfilling?
“Are you hunting the bear?” I wish he wouldn’t. I wish he’d forget about it.
His chin rests on my head. “Yeah. We leave this afternoon. My dad, Julie, and me.”
I hold onto his waist, my head resting against his firm chest. “Be careful, and take care of your family.” I don’t know how much it hurts him to lose Red because he hides his feelings. All that we went through didn’t seem to bother him. It was like another day in the wilds for him.
“I will.” He squeezes my butt. “I already miss this.”
I grab his crotch that instantly hardens in my grasp. “Don’t think I’ll be sharing this.”
Shane’s lips mesh with mine. I don’t want to leave him, but I need to face Fay, and I worry about Willa.
A black chopper flies in from the south, tossing the snow around and into my face as it lands.
When the fed steps out of the chopper, the first thing he says is, “Cynthia Waits?”
“Yes,” I say.
“You are under arrest.” He proceeds to read me my rights.
I stagger, crumpling into Shane’s arms. My head spins. I spent the last week in hell and now I’m under arrest?
“What?” I shove the fed, which probably isn’t a good thing to do. “I just spent the past week getting shot at, facing wolves, and an avalanche.”
“You don’t have to go with him.” Shane steps between us. “What the hell is this about?”
“I’m afraid she does,” the agent says, pushing his jacket back to expose a gun and resting his hand on it.
Shane postures himself to stand over the agent, who’s a good six inches shorter. “You don’t have jurisdiction here.”
I plant my feet firmly. “I’m not going anywhere with you until you tell me why you’re arresting me.”
“For drug dealing.”
I burst out laughing. After studying his face, I realize he’s serious. “Why would you even think that? I was married to a Waits. I come from money. Why would I sell drugs?”
His eyes hide behind dark Ray-Bans. “We have evidence and a witness, and you don’t have any money.”
“What are you talking about?” My credit cards don’t work. What the hell happened?
“You have to have more than that,” Shane says, revealing his Glock under his parka.
When the agent sees Shane’s gun, he swallows hard and steps back.
I don’t want to cause Shane any more problems.
“Who’s your witness?” I ask. The tension doesn’t break between these two men, but instead, increases while Shane moves closer to the fed whose hand is shaking.
“We can discuss that later,” the agent says.
“We should discuss this now,” I say.
“Your lawyer will go over the charges with you. Let’s go.” He opens the door to the chopper for me.
“Don’t go Cyn until the feds give you more information.” Shane hasn’t let go of his gun. “Someone in Texas is trying to kill Cyn. That’s what you should be investigating.”
The fed furtively glances from Shane’s clenched jaw to where his hand touches the gun. “That’s another task force.”
I let out a sigh because I don’t really have a choice. “I need to return to Willa and my dad,” I say to Shane because my dad’s probably involved, and if they suspect me, they may suspect Willa. I can’t imagine what happened to the millions Mom left us. The ranch alone is worth several million.
Shane tugs me back to his chest where it’s warm and safe. “No, Cyn. I don’t trust this guy.”
I whisper to him, “I have to.” Whoever wants me dead won’t stop, and I need to figure this out soon, especially if it’s Fay.
“Are you sure?” His brow crinkles as I nod. His mouth covers mine, and the intensity of his kiss fills me with longing. I want to stay with him, but how long could I stay here in the dark and cold while Dad and Willa may be in trouble?
After I pry myself from Shane, I slip into the chopper with the fed. The hatch closes behind me and with it my heart. I touch the cool glass and Shane purses his lips as the chopper lifts into the air.
* * *
In downtown Austin at the Pickle building, before I’ve even had a shower or a change of clothes, my mom’s lawyer Royce meets me. The minute he walks into Agent Finnegan’s office Royce argues with him.
My head is spinning. Where did the money go? No one can answer any of my questions, and the drugs. Dad and my uncle were having a powwow at my wedding, and I know Dad was into something while I did his books. I feel like I’m suffocating, and I haven’t even spoken to Willa.
“You don’t have enough evidence to hold Mrs. Waits,” Royce yells, slamming down a file folder. “We should’ve had a bail hearing by now. When is it? Have you pressed her formally with any charges?”
Now that I think about it the agent hasn’t done that. Don’t I have to be fingerprinted and booked or something?
“We would like to ask Mrs. Waits a few questions,” Agent Finnegan says. “She insisted on waiting for you.”
“Well, let’s get started, so Cynthia and I can leave.” Royce pulls out a chair for me. “Has he told you that your father is in jail?”
I keep my feelings in check, even though I feel dizzy and nauseous, but then I give up on holding back and put my head in my hands. Mom told me Dad had sold drugs as a teenager for his brother when he lived in Mexico. “Why?”
The fed opens up a file. “Drug dealing. He’s looking at twenty-five to life, and he mortgaged the ran
ch, and it’s in foreclosure.”
That explains the money being gone. Concrete blocks drop one by one onto my head. “Where’s Willa?” She has another semester in a very expensive private high school. How will we pay for it? And more importantly. “Where’s Fay?”
“Willa’s at home, but I think Fay moved out.” Royce pats his perspiring forehead with a handkerchief. “The bank doesn’t reclaim the ranch for another week.”
“Is there any money left?” How will I take care of Willa? Fay must be spitting hornets.
“Your mom’s money is gone,” Royce says. “Your dad put it all into the drug business. Fay’s inheritance was put into a trust at her request upon your mother’s death.”
Did Fay want my mother dead to collect the money? I never really thought about Fay’s portion, though I knew she controlled it. Did she hate Mom enough to have her murdered for marrying a Mexican?
“Why do you think I sell drugs? Guilty by association?” That would mean the feds arrested Willa and Fay, and neither are here.
“A trusted informant gave us your name,” the agent says matter-of-factly.
That fact slams into my chest, knocking the wind out of me. Fay knew Dad was terrible with money, so she escaped with her golden parachute. “Do I have any life insurance policies on me?”
“Your husband took out a two-point-five million dollar policy before he married you,” Royce says. “We suspected him until Shane told the feds Mr. Waits was not involved and was murdered.”
My mouth pops open. “Blake did?” I ask, wondering when and why, then I think his dad probably insisted on it being a lawyer. Blake’s mom was looking forward to grandchildren, and they believe in protecting their own. I don’t look forward to talking to them about Blake’s murder. The reality of Blake’s death didn’t hit me until Shane and I escaped the interior.
“With Blake dead, who would benefit from the policy?” I think I already know.
Royce looks down at his folder. He’s been a friend of the family for many years. “Since your dad is probably going to prison for a long time, most likely your sisters.”
“And Fay would control Willa’s portion because she’s a minor, just like Dad was supposed to watch over our monies after Mom’s death.” I want to go home and find Willa.
