Harlequin Intrigue March 2021--Box Set 1 of 2

by Cindi Myers

  She fell silent, as if contemplating her father in danger. “What happened next?” Hud prompted.

  “Ruffino said in order to get the money, I had to hand over the proof my father had left with me. I had no idea what he was talking about. My father didn’t leave me anything—certainly not ‘proof’ of anything. But I played along. I agreed to give him what he wanted in exchange for a lot of cash. And I agreed to meet him Thursday at seven to make the exchange.” She looked around at them. “I thought maybe you could be there and record the conversation and maybe I could get him to say or do something incriminating. Something that would prove my father is innocent.”

  Hud had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from telling her agreeing to such a meeting was a terrible idea and that there was no way they would risk a civilian like this. But that was only because of his feelings for her. With any other witness, he would have seen this as a breakthrough in the case. The others certainly recognized it.

  “Are you sure your father didn’t give you anything?” Reynolds asked. “A computer disk? Or one of those flash drives, like he gave Cara Mead?”

  She shook her head. “I’ve been thinking and thinking, but there’s nothing. He hasn’t even contacted me since he left.”

  “I always thought that was because he was trying to protect you,” Hud said. “To keep you out of whatever mess he’d gotten himself into.”

  “Whatever the mess is, I’m in it now,” she said. “And I want to do everything I can to help.”

  “Where is this meeting supposed to take place?” Dance asked. “Ruffino’s office?”

  “No. He suggested we meet at the construction site for the new elementary school. He said it wouldn’t look suspicious for either one of us to be there.”

  “That’s good,” Knightbridge said. “It will be easier to keep an eye on the situation out in the open, not in his office.”

  “We can fit you with a recording device and a microphone so we can listen in,” Dance said. “And we’ll have people nearby if we need to intervene.”

  “Can you coach me on what to say to get the information you need from him?” she asked.

  “We can do that,” Sanderlin said. “Though I’d say you did pretty well with him so far, making him think you have what he wants.”

  “Did Ruffino give you any idea of what he’s looking for?” Redhorse asked. “Did he specifically mention a flash drive or notes or something like that?”

  “No,” she said. “I don’t think he knows what he’s looking for. He said my father told him he had ‘proof’ in a safe place. Apparently, Ruffino has decided that means my dad gave it to me. But he hasn’t given me anything. I swear if he had, I’d hand it over to you. Whatever it is, it must be pretty incriminating.”

  “Then why didn’t your father hand it over to law enforcement?” Jason Beck asked. “From what we know about him, he doesn’t strike me as someone who’d be afraid of a man like Ruffino.”

  “I know,” she said. “I don’t understand any of it.”

  “He must have been persuaded that he or someone he cared about was in grave danger,” Redhorse said.

  Everyone looked at Audra, and a chill ran through Hud. “We can’t do this unless we can be sure Audra is safe,” he said.

  “We need to be prepared for Ruffino to want to move to another location once he meets her there.” Redhorse said.

  “I agree,” Sanderlin said. “If Dane Trask left because Ruffino threatened him, or threatened Audra, it had to be a serious threat. Ruffino wants Audra to believe he’ll be satisfied with paying her off, but I don’t believe it.”

  “You’re saying he’ll try to kill her,” Beck said.

  Audra gasped, and Hud leaned over to put his hand on her arm to steady her. “I think Carmen is right,” he said. “It’s possible Ruffino—or someone he hired—may have killed before.”

  “What do you mean?” Audra asked. “Who?”

  “I don’t have solid proof yet, but I’ve been going through Roy Holliday’s computer files,” he said. “The day before he was killed, he had a note to contact MR. His phone records show a couple of calls to a private number with a local exchange. That could be Ruffino. I’m waiting on confirmation of that, but I think it’s possible Holliday uncovered something suspicious and confronted Ruffino with it.”

  “And he was murdered to keep him quiet,” Knightbridge said.

  “I think it’s very possible,” Hud said. “We’ve linked TDC to the illegal dump site where Holliday was dumped. And someone fired on me and Audra the day we visited the site, which is yet another reason to believe Audra is in danger.”

  “How did the sniper know you would be at the dump site?” Dance asked.

  “We talked about it in the hallway at the day care center.” Hud turned to Audra. “Jana Keplar could have overheard us and told her husband or someone else at TDC. Ruffino might even have recruited her to keep an eye on you.”

  Audra nodded. “Maybe that’s why she was going through my desk the day I fired her.”

  “Did anyone follow you here?” Hud asked.

  She shook her head. “I headed back toward the school when I left TDC, but when I was almost there, I realized I had to tell you about this. I didn’t notice anyone following me here.”

  “If they were very good, you probably wouldn’t have noticed,” Beck said.

  “I really don’t think anyone followed me,” she said.

  “Let’s hope they didn’t,” Dance said.

  “Ruffino thinks you have something your father gave you that proves Ruffino or TDC or someone connected with the company did something illegal,” Sanderlin said. “Until he gets his hands on that evidence, you should be safe.”

  “Should” wasn’t good enough for Hud. “Maybe she’s safe for now,” he said. “But once she hands it over, she’ll be in real danger.”

  “We’ll be there to protect her,” Dance said.

  Audra had gone very still, but now she took a deep breath, the fire back in her eyes. “I want to do this,” she said. “I want to stop these people. Maybe then my father can come home.”

  * * *

  AUDRA HAD LEFT her meeting with Ruffino shaking, and it had taken a while after she had arrived at Ranger Brigade headquarters for the shaking to stop. She could tell that Hud had been angry at first, upset that she’d taken such a risk, but she hoped her explanations had eased his mind. He seemed calmer, though he didn’t say anything until the two of them stood in the headquarters parking lot, next to her car. He kept a hand on her arm, his body tense. “You don’t think I should do this,” she said.

  “It’s too risky,” he said. “You shouldn’t have confronted Ruffino by yourself. Not without talking to me first.”

  “Why not?” she asked. “I didn’t go in there thinking he was going to bribe me. I went to confront a bully, in a public place, with plenty of other people around. I had to let him know I wasn’t going to let him intimidate me anymore. That was my battle to fight, not yours.”

  He slid his hand up to her shoulder and looked into her eyes, his expression so intense it sent a shiver down her spine. “You don’t have to fight those battles by yourself anymore,” he said. “I can help you—if you’ll let me.”

  She had to look away. It was either that or let him see how much he was getting to her. “I’m not used to leaning on other people,” she said. She had worked so hard to learn to stand on her own feet, to not depend on drugs, or her parents, or anyone else.

  “Leaning on others doesn’t mean you’re weak,” he said. “And I want to help you.”

  “And I love that about you.” She allowed herself the luxury of enjoying the warmth and strength of his hand on her shoulder before she shrugged it off. “But try to look at this as if you weren’t my friend—as if you were one of those other officers.” She nodded toward the Ranger Brigade building.
“You’ve got this really difficult case and I come in and offer you a chance to collect some valuable evidence that might help you solve the case. At the very least, I could get proof that TDC has broken the law. There was something they did that my father found out about, that they don’t want known. I’d really like to know what that thing is, wouldn’t you?”

  “Not if it means you getting hurt.”

  “I won’t get hurt.” She softened her tone. He looked so miserable—far more upset about this than she was. Yes, she was afraid, but she was also excited to be able to do something to help, instead of tossing and turning at night, worried and helpless. “I’m going to have you and your fellow officers to protect me.”

  “Your father didn’t trust us to protect him,” Hud said.

  “Well, that’s where the two of us are different. He didn’t trust people easily, but I’m feeling a lot more trusting since I met a certain Ranger Brigade officer.”

  He didn’t exactly smile, but his expression lightened. “You know what this means, don’t you?”

  “No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”

  “It means you have a personal bodyguard, at least until we’ve settled this with Ruffino.”

  “Do I get to choose the bodyguard?” she asked.

  His eyes narrowed. “That depends. Who do you choose?”

  “Oh, I was thinking I might ask Officer Knightbridge. He’s pretty hunky and has all those tattoos.”

  His fierce glower made her laugh out loud. “I’m sorry,” she said, hand to her mouth. “But the look on your face! I think it’s a good thing Officer Knightbridge isn’t here right now.”

  “Where are you headed now?” he asked.

  “Home. I’m exhausted.”

  “I’ll be there as soon as I get done here,” he said. “And if anything suspicious happens in the meantime, call 911, then call me.”

  “You’re cute when you’re bossy.” Something about this situation—maybe her own audacity in confronting Ruffino in the first place—had brought out her sassy side. Instead of the panic she probably should have been feeling, she was giddy with excitement, and she couldn’t help teasing Hud for being so overly concerned on her behalf. At his dark look, she leaned over and kissed his cheek. “It’s going to be all right,” she said. “You’ll see. Between the two of us, we’ll figure this all out. We make a great team.”

  She got in her car and started the engine. Hud was still watching as she drove out of the parking lot. Maybe she wasn’t more afraid because she had faith in him to protect her. No, check that. She wasn’t afraid because she had more faith in herself with him backing her up.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Audra called in sick Wednesday and Thursday, pleading a terrible cold she didn’t want to pass on to the children. Brenda promised that everything was under control, and Audra spent the majority of both days in a windowless conference room, trying to memorize the instructions Hud and other members of the Ranger Brigade rattled off. She received guidance on the importance of getting Ruffino to say something that would incriminate him or his company. “Play dumb,” Lieutenant Dance said. “Make him explain everything to you. Ask him to explain exactly what information he’s worried about you having, or how he could possibly be in any trouble, or how he came up with his plan—anything at all to get him talking in detail about what he or TDC did.”

  “Won’t that make him suspicious?” she asked. “Won’t he suspect I’m being recorded?”

  “Not if you handle it right.” Hud patted her shoulder in what she was sure was meant to be a reassuring manner, but only made her worry more. What, exactly, was the right way to face a man who might be a criminal—even a murderer?

  “I’m really nervous,” she said. “I’m not sure I can hide that.”

  “Don’t hide it,” Carmen Redhorse said. “You don’t have to pretend to be anyone you aren’t. Of course you’re nervous. If Ruffino comments on it, it’s okay to say you don’t trust him, or even that you’re afraid of him.”

  “But what do I do when he asks me for the proof my dad left with me?”

  “You’re going to give him this.” Hud handed her a red plastic computer flash drive.

  She stared at the Welcome Home Warriors logo on the front. “This is one of my dad’s.” Dane had handed them out all the time to remind people of the veterans’ group he had founded.

  “Right,” Hud said. “Cara let us have it.” Cara Mead, her father’s former administrative assistant at TDC. “It’s exactly the sort of thing Ruffino will expect your father to have given you.”

  “While we’re on that subject,” Officer Beck said, “the first time we interviewed you, you said you had some of these—some your father gave you.”

  “I do. But I’ve had them all for ages. I even dug out every one I could find last night and looked at them. They’re all full of my own files.”

  “You mind if I take a look at them, just in case?” Hud asked.

  “Sure.”

  Hud took the flash drive from her. “I’ll keep track of this until you’re ready tomorrow afternoon,” he said. “I’ll hand it over before you head to your rendezvous at the construction site.”

  “What’s on it?” she asked.

  “Variations of the reports that were on the flash drives your father gave to Cara and to Eve Shea,” Hud said. “I corrupted the data, so it won’t make much sense, but the files look very technical. If Ruffino insists on taking a quick look, they should be enough to fool him. He probably knows his business, but information in his public bio doesn’t indicate the scientific background to decipher technical reports.”

  “Okay.” The four of them—Hud, Dance, Beck and Redhorse—looked so confident. Optimistic even. They were counting on her to get this right. “What about the wire I’m supposed to wear?” she asked.

  “It’s not actually wired to anything.” Redhorse picked up a flat cardboard box that had been sitting in the center of the conference table and passed it to Audra. “Everything is wireless these days. We ordered this just for you.”

  Audra lifted the box and stared at a turquoise-and-pink-quartz amulet on a thick silver chain, with matching drop earrings. “Jewelry?” she asked, confused.

  Dance laughed. “The pendant is actually a sophisticated digital recorder. It should pick up everything you both say. It will also transmit to the van where we’ll be hiding, so we can monitor the conversation. If we hear anything that sounds like trouble, we’ll be right there, with lots of backup.”

  “You’ll also have a code phrase to repeat if you sense trouble and need help,” Redhorse said.

  “What’s the code phrase?” Audra asked.

  “We thought we’d let you decide. It needs to be something that sounds natural in conversation,” Redhorse said. “Most people choose some comment about the weather, or something like that.”

  Audra tried to imagine herself having a conversation with Ruffino near the half-built elementary school. “How about ‘It’s amazing how quiet it is here this time of day’?”

  Hud nodded and typed a note into his phone. “That’s good, but we won’t necessarily wait for that phrase,” he said. “If we hear anything we don’t like, we’ll make our move. The phrase is in case you see something alarming that we can’t pick up from the conversation.”

  She tried not to dwell on what might constitute “alarming.”

  “Are you clear on what the plan is for tomorrow?” Dance asked.

  “I think so. Hud will be at my house with me to get everything set up, and we’ll test the recording equipment there.”

  “Right,” Dance said. “Beck and I will be in a van near your house. After we test the equipment, we’ll drive to the neighborhood around the construction site and get set up. We’ll also have two teams stationed nearby, at least one where they can keep an eye on the site itself.”

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sp; She nodded. “At twenty ’til seven, I’ll drive to the site and park near the entrance. I’ll walk in to meet Ruffino.”

  “My guess is he’ll try to get there first,” Dance said. “But if he isn’t there, stay inside your car until you see him.”

  “And after Ruffino and I meet up, we talk, I give him the flash drive and he gives me the money.” She swallowed, fear making a knot in her chest. “That’s how it’s supposed to go, but if he really thinks I know something incriminating about him or TDC, why would he let me just walk away? Why wouldn’t he kill me and hide the body, the way he may have done with Roy Holliday?”

  “You don’t have to do this,” Hud said. “We can call the whole thing off now.”

  “No, I want to do this. I’m just trying to figure out the best way to avoid getting killed.”

  “That’s why we’ll be there,” Dance said. “If Ruffino tries anything, we’ll move in immediately.”

  “I don’t think he’ll come alone,” she said. “That wouldn’t be smart, and he strikes me as pretty smart.”

  “No, but we’ll be prepared to handle anyone he has with him,” Beck said.

  “But you don’t have to do this,” Hud repeated.

  She took his hand and squeezed. “I think I do have to do it,” she said. “It’s the only way I see to put a stop to his persecution of me and of my dad.”

  “I think it’s too dangerous,” he said.

  “It is dangerous,” she said. “But if I don’t do this, I don’t think things are going to get any better. Someone else might even die.”

  I don’t want it to be you. He didn’t say the words out loud, but she read them in his eyes. “You ought to know by now that I’m a fighter,” she said. “I don’t give in easily. I’ll be smart, and I won’t let Mitch Ruffino get the better of me. My dad and I have that much in common.”

  He nodded. “I’ve got your back.”

  “We all do.” Dance put a hand on Hud’s shoulder. “Ruffino doesn’t know it yet, but he’s going up against all of us.”