by Cara Carnes
“You did enough. You were a kid, too.” He sighed heavily and ran a hand across her stomach. “You still protect her and everyone around you. Like today, with Jesse.”
“Someone needed to stop her. She’s tormented you all long enough.”
“That’s not your fault, sweetheart. We’re adults. We can handle your sister.”
“But you don’t because it’d hurt Riley to lose her best friend.”
“We’ve spent so long protecting her we didn’t notice she’s grown up. And she’s a hell of a lot stronger than we give her credit for.”
“Yeah, she is.” Kamren smiled. “You’re a good big brother, you know. You all are.”
“You’re a hell of a good big sister,” he whispered.
She wished it were true, but she knew better. She closed her eyes and drifted within the calm Dallas’s presence created. He’d let her offload a batch of the stew simmering in her, enough for her to relax for the first time since the incident had gone down with Riley.
“My handler in The Collective was a bitch, the worst you could imagine times one hundred thousand. I knew if I stayed with them I’d never get out, I’d never get back to my family. To the good, clean, happy life I wanted.” Kamren shifted in his embrace, faced him and wrapped her arms around his body. “Fuck, that feels good, sweetheart.”
It did.
Pleasure danced across her skin as the heat from his exposed torso penetrated the soft shell covering hers. Her nipples tightened, but she pushed back the arousal. Tonight wasn’t about sex. He’d taken on her demons. Now she’d stare his in the eyes and kick their asses.
“She blackmailed you into bed, didn’t she? That’s how you have a son.”
“Yeah. Didn’t find out until she was bleeding out on a concrete floor after she had taken me and Jud captive.” He kissed her cheek and ran a hand down her back. “Fuck, you smell so good.”
“Then Hailey drugged you,” she whispered.
“Yeah. I’d just gotten home and was at Bubba’s. I was so relieved to be home, drinking a beer and relaxing.” Tension filled the muscles beneath her palms. She deepened the contact between them and kissed his jawline. “I woke up in her bed, my brother glaring down at me. Dylan went wheels up before we could have it out.”
“He thought the worst.”
“Everyone did, including me. Then I figured out she’d done something to my beer. No way in hell I was ready to admit that, not after…”
“Not after what The Collective bitch did.” Anger seeped into Kamren’s calm, but she forced it back. She didn’t get to fly into a rage over his demons, not tonight. Tonight she’d keep them away from him and give him peace. “Neither of them will ever mess with you again, Dallas. I won’t let them.”
“One of them is dead,” he said with a grin as he pulled back.
“Good.” She rested her head on his chest when he settled onto his back. “I hope I get to meet your son soon.”
She closed her eyes and drifted within the calm he’d given her. For the first time in forever, she had someone to share her burdens with, and he’d shared his. She’d connected with someone on a level beyond the physical. And it was spectacular.
14
Henry Mills’ ranch house was vile extravagance at its worst. Kamren took in the gated entry adorned with mounted deer heads. “He probably can’t even shoot a gun.”
Jud chuckled. Riley shifted in the front seat. Riley had been quiet on the way to Marville, leaving Kamren to wonder how patched her friendship with Rachelle was after the disastrous confrontation in the cafeteria.
All thoughts of what’d happened the day before fled when Jud pulled their vehicle to a stop. He looked over at Riley. “What’s the first rule of interviews?”
“Assess the situation before you present your questions. Watch physical reactions just as much as the verbal ones.” The blonde rolled her eyes. “This isn’t my first interview, you know.”
“No, but this isn’t someone stealing food from Bubba’s, or mail from the post office. This bastard could be the one behind your tires getting slashed and her dad getting dead. We’re done playing in the kiddie pool, starting today.”
Wowza.
Intensity wafted off Jud as he waited Riley out. She had a streak of stubborn in her, one Kamren couldn’t help but find amusing because it was so similar to Cord. She’d seen it in Marshall, too. It made her smile and wonder if Dallas had it as well.
A short man with muscles spilling out of his ill-fitting suit greeted them at the door. He made a production of touching his gun, which made Jud chuckle and cross his arms in front of his waist in the stance she’d seen many of the operatives take. She’d started calling it I-just-look-like-I’m-relaxed.
“You have an appointment with Mr. Mills?”
“Thinking he’ll want to hear what we have to say,” Jud said.
“And you are?” the man tried again.
“Trouble you’d best let past before I get irritated,” Jud said.
“Mr. Mills is a very busy man, sir. I’m afraid unless you have an appointment, you’ll have to leave, or I’ll call the sheriff.”
“Good, he’s next on our visit list. Having them both here would save some time,” Riley replied. “Go ahead and let Haskell know there’s a Mason out here asking for him and Mr. Mills. Let’s see how that one goes over.”
“I’m afraid he doesn’t know any Masons.”
“That’s okay; we know plenty about him.” Riley crossed her arms. “The longer you wait, the bigger the chance another Mason will come wandering in. They’re mighty protective and in a really bad mood lately. Someone’s messing with our friends. And me. That one’s got them real miffed.”
The man touched his weapon again as he looked between Jud and Riley, who’d morphed into a pint-sized bad ass. She’d either been watching her brothers or simply being in the same breathing space as so many had rubbed off on her. Either way, Kamren was seriously impressed.
The man’s gaze moved to Kamren. “And you are?”
“Oh, Mr. Mills killed my dad. Go ahead, make your call, and I’ll wait my turn.” Yep. Kamren hadn’t found her bad ass, but her smart ass was definitely in place. Jud’s lips twitched.
Riley’s eyes widened.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. I misunderstood you.”
“No, you didn’t.” Kamren let her voice rise. “I’ll go slower this time. Your boss killed my dad. I’m here to have a few words about that. But I’ll wait until the sheriff is here. We have some questions about the payoff your boss sent to him. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
The man shrank backward. “I’ll just go see if Mr. Mills is available.”
“Great, you do that,” Riley said.
The moment the door clicked shut, Jud said, “I promised I’d bring you two back in one piece. If we could maybe stow the smartass until we are in the door, that’d be helpful.”
“Like you couldn’t kill him a hundred different ways without breaking a sweat,” Kamren muttered. “Sorry, gotta admit my mind’s stewing on stuff. I’ve been chasing this rabbit trail a long time.”
“I didn’t know,” Riley said. “I’m sorry. I should’ve known.”
“Doesn’t matter; we’re here now.” Not that it’d probably do any good. Vi and Mary had gathered very little in the way of hard evidence against Henry Mills when it came to her father’s death.
Was he even responsible? Questions and doubts wore on Kamren’s nerves as they waited. And waited.
The door opened. The man returned and motioned for them to enter as if they were filthy animals being let in. Kamren made a point of rubbing the dried mud caked on the bottom of her hiking boots onto the marbled floor entryway. Jud chuckled as he watched with amusement.
“This way,” the man said, his lips curled. “Please refrain from touching the artwork. Mr. Mills has exquisite tastes lost on the local ilk.”
“Right. Clearly a man of your cunning fashion sense knows all about art,�
� Riley said. “Look at my friend like that again and I’ll shove that too-small jacket up your ass.”
“I see you’ve made new friends, Higgins.”
Kamren chuckled. He looked like a Higgins.
“I’m afraid I didn’t understand why you three are here.”
“We’re looking into the murder of Roland Garrett. I understand he did some work on your hunting lease,” Jud said.
“I’m sorry, are you law enforcement? Sherriff Haskell hasn’t mentioned new deputies,” Henry replied as he undid the button to his suit jacket and sat. The move accentuated his rail-thin physique, wiry and freakishly tall. Like a weasel with a mustache that ran downward and stopped at the seam of his lips. Thick, unnaturally black hair sat atop his head like a nest. He motioned toward the sofa, but Kamren remained standing. She studied the art on the walls.
“We’re private investigators contracted by The Arsenal to look into this matter on behalf of whatever alphabet agency you’d prefer. We’re unfortunate enough to know all of them. Quite well.” Jud sat right in front of Mills, his physical presence close enough for them to almost touch.
The man squirmed, shifting his seat backward. “Right, well, I’m afraid I don’t understand how the unfortunate accident of a hand of mine is within any alphabet agency’s purview. Perhaps I should contact them directly.”
“Perhaps you should,” Riley said. “Word of advice, Mr. Mills. You clearly don’t know me, but everyone knows my brothers. You don’t want to get into an address book war with them. No one does. Their contacts are plentiful, powerful, and more than willing to do whatever they ask, whenever.”
“And you feel the need to boast about this because?”
Riley shrugged. “What can I say? I’m just a proud little sister. But, I’m thinking you needed that education so this conversation can move forward without you thinking you can intimidate us by mentioning some Director Schmuck in San Antonio, or wherever.”
“Very well, we’ll cut to the chase. I knew Mr. Garrett. He was an employee of mine, briefly. He assisted my associates and clients more than me. I prefer to remain within the comfortable indoors. But since many of my clients prefer to be outdoors, we came out here on occasion. Mr. Garrett was an exceptional asset for those visits, making sure we had whatever we needed.”
“Which was?” Kamren asked. “I’ll bet you don’t even know where your hunting lease is.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course, I’m sure you wouldn’t understand, but my holdings are vast and keeping track of them all is a bit of a burden.” He shifted within his seat. “I do recall when Mr. Garrett passed. One of my most important clients was out here. It was an…”
“Inconvenience,” Jud finished.
“Yes, it was,” the man admitted.
“Are these clients also part of your other business out here?” Riley asked.
“I don’t believe I understand what you’re asking. What other business?”
“The one where you’re paying off the local sheriff to help you toss people out of their homes. The one where you’re paying off the local banker to foreclose on their homes, all so you can swoop in and buy their land before the oil company leases drilling rights.” Kamren smiled. “That business. If you don’t remember, I’m sure we can share the pictures. Or the bank records.”
The man paled. “That’s hardly your business. That doesn’t concern Mr. Garrett in any way.”
“I’m thinking it did. See, he was my dad, and he wasn’t a good man. He also wasn’t one that liked rich muckety-mucks like you pushing hard working, country-raised men like him off their land, all so you can make a few more million.” Kamren shrugged. “But I guess we’ll see what those alphabet groups you weren’t too worried about think about all that.”
“I’m very sorry to hear about your father, Ms. Garrett, but I can assure you I had no involvement in his death. I was assured it was an accident,” the man said.
“Henry, I heard you had some unwanted visitors.”
Sherriff Ronnie Haskell made Kamren’s skin crawl. No matter what she did, she couldn’t ever rid herself of the disgust and unease that rattled her every time he was around. Jud rose from his seat.
“You must be Ronnie.” The intentional slight of not remembering to mention his position snapped through the room like a misfired gun. Jud stared the man down.
Haskell adjusted the weapons belt around his thick waist and cleared his throat. “You must be one of those soldiers of fortune the Masons hired. You’d best go on back. We don’t tolerate your kind in my county.”
“His kind?” Kamren asked. “What would that be? Hard-working, law-abiding citizens that protect and defend this country? Those kind? Or did you mean the kind that doesn’t cover up an illegal gambling operations for his brother?”
“I’m not that law-abiding,” Jud commented.
“I know it’s hard to accept that your pa is dead, darling, but it’s time you left the good folks of Marville alone with this. If you don’t, I’m afraid I’m gonna have to take matters into my own hands.” Haskell leered at her.
“Was it good, Sherriff?”
“Was what good, darling?”
“Did you get the five grand from this asshole before or after you pretended to look over my dad’s murder scene? Did he take you out for a good steak dinner in Nomad, thanking you for your commitment to his bottom line?”
The man paled. Riley leaped into play.
“She has pictures of you two together. We dug. Deep. Deep enough to find that secret account, Sherriff Haskell. You may as well know my brothers got wind of that and said we weren’t to worry about you. See, you get a pass from us.” Riley smiled. “You’re on their radar, and that’s not somewhere anyone ever wants to be.”
“I’m allowed to hire out for personal security. Nothing in my position says otherwise,” the man argued.
“Like I said, I was told to stay off you.” Riley looked at Henry, then back at Ronnie. “See, the way my brothers see it, and you know they’re plenty smart, the Texas Rangers are gonna be looking into you. We figure they’ll ferret out the truth from you, and you can flip on this asshole.”
“Or not,” Jud said. “Consider this your push, gentlemen. We’ll be in touch for answers. First one to give us the details we want gets a pass. The other one swings.”
Vi looked around the room at the gathered group of women. “No! I didn’t believe Jud when he came back. He was laughing so hard I damn near died from curiosity. I mean, he just doesn’t lose it like that.”
Kamren had been commandeered by a very demanding Bree shortly after they’d returned from Marville. As far as Kamren was concerned, the day was a waste of time. But Jud had said they’d pushed. Now they had to wait.
She glanced around the small cottage as she sipped her beer. Addy, Vi, Mary, Bree, Rhea, Zoey, Riley and Rachelle. The latter was a bit cold with Kamren, but everyone had been civil so far, which kept the awkward in the room at a manageable level.
“You just announced you were there because he killed your dad? Just like that?” Rhea asked.
“Yep.” Riley grinned. “I almost died. I don’t know how I didn’t. The man’s face alone made me wish we’d had a drone to record it.”
“Clearly the bastard’s hiding something. We fielded calls from his attorney, some schmuck in the local FBI field office in San Antonio, then another attorney.” Mary leaned back and rubbed her belly. “He’s definitely nervous, which unfortunately proves what Vi and I suspected.”
“He’s not the one, is he?” Kamren asked.
“No, but he’s definitely dirty. Then again, he might be guilty for all we know. That’s what an investigation’s for,” Vi said.
“Are we done yapping about the boring stuff? I want to get to the fun part of the night.”
“Fun? What fun?” Rachelle asked. “Are we going shopping?”
“It’s midnight. Where the hell would we go?” Addy asked as she entered the room and dumped a bag in Kamren’s lap.
“Addy! We discussed this. I was going to go back in the bedroom and wrap it,” Bree said.
“Geez,” Zoey whined. “I spent ten minutes printing out wrapping paper.”
“So get the damn thing and wrap it,” Addy said. “My girl there isn’t like you all. You drag this shit out too long, and she’ll get awkward and nervous.”
Kamren had passed awkward and nervous a while back. She offered Addy a small smile of thanks and looked down at the box. Rachelle’s gaze narrowed on the bag the box was in. Kamren recognized the logo as a place in Nomad that sold phones and computers and stuff but wasn’t sure.
“What’s this?” Kamren asked.
“Open it!” Bree exclaimed.
“Warning, don’t freak out. We all talked it over. You’re doing investigations with this crew; we need to be able to be in contact with you. This is a tool, just like any other in your backpack. A weapon when needed.” Addy’s voice was low, but in a tone Kamren knew meant business. A lecture so she wouldn’t freak out.
She opted for silence rather than a verbal response. She opened the bag, then the box. Shock kept her silent as she pulled out the cell phone. It was thin, but small enough to fit in a pocket.
“We know you lost yours in the explosion, so we replaced it. It’s on The Arsenal plan. They get this really awesome deal,” Rhea said. “It’s a smartphone.”
“Pft, that’s ironic,” Rachelle muttered.
Tension corded around Kamren as she glared at her sister. Truth be told, she’d always wanted one but hadn’t been able to afford anything more than a cheap one from Walmart that flipped up. She’d never gotten many calls anyway because back then she hadn’t had many people to call her.
Now she did.
She thought.
She had friends.
“That wasn’t nice,” Riley said as she punched Rachelle’s arm.
“What? It’s true, okay? She probably won’t even be able to operate it. I love her, but she’s not like you all.” Rachelle looked around. Arms crossed, she halted on Kamren. “Tell them.”
She should. But for once she wanted to fit in, wanted to be like them. “I can’t read. My education stopped in the third grade, so I suppose she’s right, but I pick up on stuff fast and learn what I can.”
