by Unknown
“Where are you?” came the familiar deep voice.
“In the destination we discussed,” Colin replied. “The men want me to stay here. I’m bait to lure our catch in.”
“You want to do that?”
“They said with four of us, we should be able to get what we want.”
Colin listened to the pause on the other end of the line and could imagine the tall, graying military man mulling over the setup and making his own judgments. “I’ll ask again. Do you want to do that?”
“Yes. There are two pluses. Get what we want and my travels would end.”
“Right. If I agree, then we need to leak word of what you’re doing. Won’t do much good if no one knows where you are.”
“That’s right. So go ahead and leak. We’re ready.”
“Good. I’ll get word to the Agency and to the others here. At least to the ones I think should know. Hopefully, the word will reach the right ears. Anything you need or want?”
“No, sir. Not at this point. The guys are all still competent at what they’ve been trained to do.”
“We better hope to hell they are. I think I’ll send a man.”
“I’ll call in two days to check in with you.”
“Fine. Watch yourself and your friends. It may get deadly.”
Colin replaced the receiver, staring at the phone as the general’s last words rang in his ears. It may get deadly.
“No kidding,” Colin mumbled to himself. He felt exposed, standing on the street corner, talking into a pay phone, yet that was probably the safest way to make contact. Now everything had been set in motion. It was only a matter of time. Time and the killer.
Isabella pressed her nose against the door and looked up and down the street. A small percentage of people were already out. There would be more in another half hour. She could name most of the people she saw, but there were a few strangers, mostly couples that she would guess were tourists. To her relief, she didn’t spot any single males who were strangers, but that could change as the day wore on.
Her Glock was in her purse and she knew Colin had a pistol strapped in a holster that he wore on his leg below his calf.
Her thoughts jumped to the kisses they had just shared and all sense of danger disappeared. She touched her lips lightly. She was playing with fire by teasing him or goading him into kisses or anything else personal, yet he was not as numb to the world—and to women—as he thought he was. And tonight she was going on a date with him. There was no other way to look at it. She glanced at her watch while she thought about what she wanted to wear. Nine hours and she would go out with Colin on their first date.
She watched him replace the receiver and turn from the pay phone to walk back to the alley to get her car.
As she made her way through her studio to her office, she heard the engine of her car start up and listened to him drive away. She touched her lips again, knowing she needed to get her mind on work and off of Colin.
Returning to Isabella’s car, Colin left Stallion Pass. In minutes he was on the highway headed to San Antonio. It was only when he was almost in town that he figured out he was being followed.
Colin got off the Interstate earlier than he needed to. Watching in his rearview mirror, he spotted a black sedan leave the Interstate three cars behind him. It could be coincidence. There were a lot of black sedans and Colin knew that one could easily be headed the same direction he was.
He drove down a busy street and turned onto a wide thoroughfare. For a few minutes he thought he had lost the car, but then he saw it more than a block behind him. He turned a corner and wound around a block, taking an alley and turning another direction.
He parked three blocks away from Mike’s office and walked, pausing at shops to check out the crowd, finally deciding no one was following him.
Colin entered Mike’s one-story building and told a smiling receptionist that he had an appointment to see Mike.
When Colin entered Mike’s office, Mike came to his feet, walking around his desk to shake hands. Dressed in a tan sport shirt and chinos, Mike closed the door and motioned Colin to a leather chair.
“I think I was followed as I drove here,” Colin said. “So our man must already be here.”
Mike grinned and shook his head as he settled in a chair and turned to face Colin. “You were followed all right and Boone’s face is red. He thinks he’s getting rusty.”
“Boone followed me? Why?”
“We agreed that we’d take shifts following you—and no arguments. You’re the bait and this was our idea so we’re going to try to protect you.”
“So that was Boone.” Colin shook his head. “And somebody will follow me home from here. Now how will I know whether the person tailing me is one of you—one of the good guys—or the bad guy?”
“Just keep on with what you’re doing. You spot the tail, you lose the tail. If it’s one of us, we’ll find you. It won’t work for us to check in with you or you with us because phones can be tapped and the cell phones are definitely out.”
Colin nodded. “Fine. Now down to some nitty-gritty. The guest house at Boone’s has a poor alarm system. It’s worse than yours.”
Mike nodded. “Figures. There never has been any reason for them to have a sophisticated alarm system before. I’ll be out about four this afternoon to check on it. How’s that?”
“Fine.”
“We’ll look it over, see what we need and go from there.”
“The grounds need more lights. Also, I think Isabella’s shop needs better security. She’s put herself in harm’s way and the person we’re after has no regard for life.”
“I’ll make the appointment now to check her studio,” Mike said and pulled out his cell phone to call her, setting an appointment for three that afternoon. When he snapped shut his phone, he turned to Colin. “That covers the security. What about Washington?”
“I called Washington this morning from a pay phone on the corner across from Isabella’s studio. Mike, I told you that on this mission to find the double agent, I know the identity of only one other of our group—Brett Hamilton. They might send him out here.”
“You should be able to trust him.”
“If this agent has succeeded all these years, then he has to be high up and he has to be someone we all know,” Colin said.
“Or at least a person some of us know. He knew about us and that mission that was a death trap,” Mike added.
“I have the scars to prove that. He’s deadly and he’s gotten away with this for a long time now. I still don’t like bringing trouble to all of you and I don’t like Isabella mixed into it at all. She’s an innocent in this.”
“Izzie can take care of herself and you know it. She knows enough to be cautious, too. And to alert you if necessary. Is she worried?”
“No, she’s not.”
“There you are. Forget it. She’s like Boone. They’re daredevils, both of them.”
“I can’t help feeling this is a man I know well.”
“It’s not one of our bunch,” Mike said. “I’d swear on that one.”
“I know it’s not one of you guys. We went through too much together and that bomb was intended for all of us. But whoever it is, he’s more than an acquaintance, he’s close and trusted.”
Mike nodded. “After all you’ve told me, I agree. That’s all the more reason to be careful. How long before the killer shows up in Texas?”
“The general will contact our liaison with the Agency. I wouldn’t be surprised if Peter Fremont may come to Texas himself. Probably he’ll bring another man with him.”
“Do you think we can narrow the suspect to whoever comes to Texas?”
“I think the likelihood that the killer will come to Texas and make contact is, say, ninety percent. There’s that other ten percent chance that it’ll be an undercover operative who’ll come out of the shadows and use the other guys as decoys. We have to be ready for anything.”
Mike nodded. “I can’t
tell you how good it is to have you home.”
“Thanks. It’s great to be here, except I hate bringing trouble and I’m sure that I am.”
“We’re ready.”
“You know the unexpected always happens.”
Mike shrugged. “We’ve been through this before. We can do it one more time.”
“I’m going to call my family this afternoon to tell them that I’m here and staying for a while. They don’t have to know the particulars although I imagine they might guess.”
“Let me show you my office, introduce you to the people who work for me. Colin, I have a proposition that I want you to think about. When this is over, I’d like you to be a partner with me. We can incorporate. You’d be great in this business.”
“That’s a really great offer,” Colin replied in surprise. His first thought was of Isabella. If he accepted Mike’s offer, he would be able to stay near her. Colin pushed the thought aside for now. Still, he was surprised and pleased by the offer. It had been a long time since he had thought of himself with a future. “Thanks. I’ll think about it.”
“I mean it. You’re an expert at this. I do more corporate and electronic security than anything else. I’m getting more and more business. Savannah knows a lot of people in these parts so I hit the ground running and it’s built steadily ever since I opened.”
“Mike, I can’t think that far ahead right now. Let’s get this other settled first.”
“I’ve talked to the others and we need to get together again, so can we meet at Boone’s tonight? You and I will be there anyway. He said to come on over, Isabella, too. He’s already talked to her and told her this meeting is necessary. She said she would be there.”
“I had something I was going to do.”
“Put it off. This is urgent.”
“Now I’m curious. All right, I’ll change my plans,” Colin said, knowing that Isabella would cancel their date anyway since she had already agreed to go to her brother’s house.
“That’s settled. Come on. Let me show you around.”
Colin toured Mike’s office, met his employees, discussed security systems and went to lunch with Mike. After lunch he told Mike he would see him at Isabella’s studio. Next, Colin went shopping. It amazed him to think he was no longer on the run, something he had expected to do, perhaps for the rest of his life. This might be temporary, but he needed more clothes than he had been carrying with him.
After purchasing clothing and needed items, he left San Antonio to drive back to Stallion Pass and Isabella’s studio. Passing through the rolling Hill Country with its lush, verdant fields cut by ribbons of glistening streams, he thought about the morning.
Dressed in red, Isabella had looked gorgeous, and back at the house when she had first walked into the room, it had been necessary to curb the impulse to reach for her and tell her she was beautiful.
Gorgeous and pure trouble. This morning she had goaded him into kissing her, giving him a challenge he couldn’t ignore. Date Boone’s sister? It would be like mixing dynamite with fire. He was happy to be able to get out of the dinner date they had arranged for tonight.
Well, part of him was glad, another part of him was filled with regret. Unbidden came images of her pressed against him earlier today—their scalding kisses that had melted and seared and driven him wild. Just thinking about them made him hot again and he vowed to keep his hands to himself and to avoid dating her. The dinner date for tonight was canceled and he would let it go at that.
He hadn’t been twenty minutes out of the city when he spotted a black sedan staying steadily behind him. Was it friend or enemy? he wondered. Only one way to find out.
Chapter 7
A s soon as Colin exited the Interstate, he speeded up, racing to the first stop and turning, heading into Stallion Pass and turning off the highway into town to take a circuitous route to Isabella’s studio.
Fifteen minutes later, he was certain he had lost the tail. Colin turned and left the residential area, driving toward town and approaching the downtown area from the opposite direction he would have taken had he not tried to shake the tail.
He didn’t see a black sedan anywhere in sight when he swept into the alley behind her place.
He parked in back of her studio and had to ring a bell for admittance.
When Isabella opened the door, his pulse jumped to his mouth. Her blue eyes sparkled and she gave him a dazzling smile. “Hi.”
“Hi. Sorry we had to cancel dinner plans, but those guys want to talk to me. I don’t know what they have in mind, but they said we’d all go to your brother’s place for supper.”
“That’s fine,” she said.
Promptly at three Mike appeared and the two men, together with Isabella, went over her alarm system and talked about what to install.
Mike then followed Colin to the ranch where they reviewed the security system for the guest house, then the two men left to talk to Boone about his house and the rest of the ranch. Isabella stayed back to get ready for the dinner at Boone’s.
Shortly before seven she looked out the window and saw Colin striding toward the house. She wanted to give her hair one more pat, but resisted the temptation. It was tied behind her head with a green ribbon that matched her cotton sundress. She hurried to open the back door as Colin crossed the porch. When his gaze swept over her, her pulse speeded up.
“You look and smell nice,” he said as he followed her into the house and closed the door.
“Thank you. I’m ready to go.”
“The wives have driven over, so it’s another clambake. I don’t know what this one is about,” Colin said, sounding perplexed. “I know it has something to do with me.”
“It must be good or all the wives wouldn’t be there.”
“I agree, which makes me even more puzzled. I want to clean up a bit. I’ve been in attics and haylofts and I feel grubby. If you’ll wait ten minutes, I’ll go with you.”
She nodded and watched him walk away. He yanked his dark shirt off and muscles rippled in his back as he wadded the shirt and balled it in his fist.
In less than ten minutes he was back in fresh jeans and a blue knit shirt. His hair was wet and combed sleekly back from his face and, for the first time, she could see some tiny scars around his hairline.
“I’m ready now.”
“And you look dashing and handsome, Colin. I’m sure I must have been terribly impressed when I was sixteen.”
“But you don’t remember for certain,” he said.
She shook her head and laughed. “Sorry. You were just another old man to me then.”
He groaned. “Thanks, Isabella. Let’s activate this antiquated alarm system and turn loose the ferocious dogs and be on our way, secure in the knowledge that the place is well-guarded.”
“The dogs might do better than you think,” she said, rising to their defense.
“Yeah, right,” he said and punched in the alarm code. They locked up and left, shooing away the dogs at the gate and strolling across the wide drive to Boone’s mansion.
It was an April evening and the air was balmy. Colin had noticed that dusk came later each night. The ranch was quiet and still with only the songs of birds and the crunch of his feet and Isabella’s breaking the silence. Boone’s landscaped yard held beds of daises and golden coreopsis. Climbing roses spilled from whitewashed wooden trellises.
“The Double T is a beautiful ranch,” Colin remarked as he looked around, thinking no one would know there was danger lurking in the shadows or a life or death situation facing all of them.
At the Devlins’s they ate barbecue outside on the patio under a spring sunset that was a brilliant pink splash across the sky. Horses could be seen in a distant pasture and the rolling land was verdant and in places dotted with yellow and red wildflowers. It was idyllic, belying the mounting danger.
Colin was glad to see that Jonah and Kate were back together and seemed happier than ever. Jonah constantly had his arm around her shoulders or a
round her waist and when they looked at each other, there was no doubt of their love. That was true of the other two men and their wives, too.
While Boone grilled ribs, Erin hovered around him and it amused Colin to see Boone so settled. A Texan now, he was dressed in hand-tooled Western boots, jeans and a Western shirt just like the others.
As the evening progressed, Colin tried to keep his attention on his friends and conversation, but he was constantly aware of Isabella.
And with the passing of time, his curiosity grew as to why the party was being held.
It was nine o’clock before Mike motioned to him. “Colin, come join us. If you ladies would excuse us for a few minutes, we need to talk to Colin.”
Colin looked across the room at Isabella. If she knew what this was about, it didn’t show. She arched her eyebrows slightly and shrugged.
He left, following them into Boone’s study where Boone closed the door and offered to get drinks for anyone who wanted one.
When they were finally seated on comfortable leather chairs and a couple more beers brought for Jonah and Boone, Mike leaned forward, placing his elbows on his jeans-covered knees. “Colin, we had a meeting this morning and we’ve come to a decision we want to tell you about.”
Colin gazed back solemnly, curiosity rampant because he couldn’t imagine what was on Mike’s mind unless it was to ask him to leave Texas.
“Now hear me out before you start protesting,” Mike said.
Colin nodded, realizing they were not going to ask him to go.
“Remember when all four of us rescued John Frates, the Texas oil magnate held hostage in Colombia?”
Colin nodded. “Sure. That’s something I do remember.”
“John Frates put us all in his will. You were in the first will, but when John Frates got news of your death, he divided your inheritance among us. Savannah is his attorney and she knows all of this and you can discuss it with her if you want.”
Wondering what was coming, Colin sat in silence when Mike paused.
“As you know, after Jessie’s birth, John and his wife left for a trip to Scotland. They drowned in a boating accident off the coast there. When that happened, we each inherited a million and a third. Plus other things like care of Jessie, my home and trust funds set up for me, the ranches to Jonah and Boone. That extra third was to have been yours. None of us needs that money. We’re putting it—”
