“It’s hard to miss. That dog looks up to you as if you were his idol. Come to think of it, you probably are.”
“The feeling is mutual. All the K-9 unit dogs are amazing.” She sobered. “I sure hope they find Rio soon. I could tell how much that little McNeal boy missed him. The only times he left his father’s side at the barbecue was to snuggle with one of the other dogs.”
“Yeah. It’s been rough for that kid. First he loses his mother and then the dog he counts on for protection and affection gets snatched.”
Nicki’s hand rested at her waist, fingers splayed over the baby growing within her. “It’s going to be hard to raise my child alone, but I can do it. I know I can. Lots of people do fine as single parents.”
“Who’re you trying to convince? Me, or yourself?”
“Maybe both. I’ve tried to look ahead, to plan the rest of my life sensibly and sanely. It’s hard. I can’t tell what to do or think when I know someone is out to get me.” She blinked away unshed tears. “What am I going to do, Harold?”
“Pray a lot. Trust the Lord and the folks He’s put in your path to help you out. Take one day at a time. That’s my motto.”
“Mind if I borrow it?” Nicki asked through a forced smile.
“Not at all. Glad to share.” He straightened. “I think we’ve curried her enough. Stay right there while I go get a hoof pick. I’ll be right back.”
“Is that anything like a toothpick?” she teased.
The sound of the older man’s warm laughter was muted as he entered the barn once again.
More relaxed now that she’d become acquainted with the mare, Nicki slipped her fingers through the strands of long mane and wiggled them. The horse turned her head and sniffed, then blew against Nicki’s closest arm, tickling her.
She returned the featherlight touch. A few long hairs, like a dog’s whiskers, stuck out stiffly, but the rest of the animal’s nose was as soft as velvet and warm beneath her hand.
“Okay,” she said quietly, “you’re not so big and bad after all. But you’re sure chubby. What do they feed you, anyway, girl?”
Running her palm gently over the horse’s side she felt a bump, then movement. Of course. They had something in common. The mare was in foal.
Soon she would be out of shape, too, Nicki mused. That was a given. And even if Jackson had admired her in the past, as she suspected, he was sure to think she looked funny as her pregnancy progressed.
Nicki sighed. Well, that couldn’t be helped. It was what it was. She was what she was. God had forgiven her and had used her mistakes to help her heal. For that she was thankful, no matter what.
Perhaps, if things settled down soon, she’d be able to find another position and leave the ranch before Jackson started thinking she was unattractive.
And then what? she asked herself. What difference did it make if he didn’t like her looks? They had no chance for future happiness when she would be the mother of another man’s illegitimate offspring. If she herself could not fully come to terms with that situation, how could she expect anyone else to?
A shiver shot up her spine. Was she going to be able to love her baby the way she should? Would she be a good mother? A loving parent? Fair to the innocent little one who had not asked to be born, particularly if it happened to be a boy who reminded her of Bobby Lee.
That, and only that, had to be her prayer. Not for herself, but for her baby.
And she must stop pining for Jackson, too, she reminded herself. It was fine to look up to the man, to rely on him—and his uncle—for safety and shelter. However, it was not reasonable to think they might someday become a couple. Her traitorous hormones were leading her astray, that was all.
She had read that that kind of thing might happen, that she could be fooled into believing almost anything when her body was so out of balance.
The mare lifted its head and stomped one of its hooves, jarring Nicki out of her contemplation.
Titan jumped up, too. His hackles rose. A low growl rumbled from deep in his chest.
Both horse and dog were staring at the house, but Nicki didn’t hear or see anything out of the ordinary.
She tensed, wondering if she should run into the barn to fetch Harold. To her relief, she saw him coming toward her.
“Titan just alerted,” she said, ruing the fact she sounded breathless. “So did the horse, I think.”
“What did they do?”
She pointed. “They both started looking that way.”
“Did you hear a car drive up? Anything?”
“No.”
Titan had moved to heel on her left and was standing as if he were posing for his portrait at a dog show.
Harold drew his sidearm. “You stay here. I’ll go investigate.”
“Oh, no, you don’t. If you’re going, I’m going.”
“That’s unacceptable.”
“So is letting you go off and leave me.”
“Titan will protect you.”
Nicki chuckled nervously. “If I was a bomb I might buy that. I happen to know he’s not trained in protection like some of the other dogs in Jackson’s unit.”
“No, but his basic instinct is working just fine. Look at him,” the older man said, taking a step forward.
Nicki stifled a gasp. Someone or something was coming around the corner of the ranch house! A man. A rather portly man.
Her eyes widened as she assessed the scene. Whoever their visitor was, he was dressed in an expensive, three-piece gray suit with Western tailoring. His highly polished boots had already picked up a coating of Texas mud thanks to the recent storm. In one hand he held a businessman’s felt Stetson and in the other a crumpled handkerchief. Considering his pristine attire, and the way he was mopping his damp brow and patting the sparse hair stuck to his forehead, he looked far from intimidating.
Smiling, the man raised a hand and waved the hanky before continuing to blot his pudgy face. “Afternoon, folks. My car broke down a ways back, and I need to use a phone to call a tow truck. Can y’all help me with that?”
Harold holstered his weapon and returned the man’s grin. “Sure thing. You from around here?”
“Close enough. I’m glad I found somebody home. I was afraid I was going to have to hike on down the road.”
“You don’t have a cell phone?” Harold asked, closing the distance between himself and the stranger.
“Battery’s dead,” the man replied. “Guess I forgot to charge it.”
“Well, don’t worry. You can call from the house. Follow me.”
“Thanks. I could use a drink of water, too, please. I’m real parched.”
Nicki saw both men disappear into the kitchen. Although Titan seemed to still be upset, the mare had settled down.
Bending slightly, Nicki laid her palm on the dog’s broad head and ruffled his ears with her fingers. “It’s okay, boy. Just a passing motorist. Nothing to worry about.”
The dog remained stiff in spite of pausing to lick her hand. She stood with him and waited for Harold to return. What was the delay? How long did it take to make one phone call?
Finally out of patience, she called, “Hey, Harold, where are you?”
There was no response. Nothing. Not even a wave from the open kitchen window where the men should be getting drinks from the refrigerator, although she did hear the house phone ringing.
Nicki was torn. If she stayed out there with Titan, she’d be safe for a while. But then what? What if Harold needed her? Or what if the businessman had fainted. He’d looked pretty pale and weary when he’d arrived, so that was a possibility.
With Titan at her side, she started for the back door. Climbed the stairs. Opened the screen. And stepped into the kitchen.
Harold was there, all right.
So was the man in the gray suit.
And he was holding a gun.
SIXTEEN
Jackson let the ranch landline ring ten times, then hung up and redialed just in case he’d made a mistake. T
his time, he let it go until the answering machine triggered.
Frustrated, he punched more keys on his phone and brought up the personal cell his uncle rarely bothered to carry. That call went to voice mail.
Across the desk, Captain McNeal frowned. “Something wrong, Worth?”
“I sure hope not. Nobody at the ranch is answering.” Jackson made a wry face. “This isn’t the first time this has happened. Between Harold and Nicki you’d think one of them would have the sense to keep a working cell close by.”
“I’d expect Harold to since he knows there could be trouble. Not so sure about the girl. She seemed pretty cool and collected during the barbecue, though. Nobody got a thing out of her except polite conversation.”
“That’s because she has nothing to hide,” Jackson countered. “I overheard enough to know you’d asked everybody to quiz her. Now are you satisfied?”
“Getting that way,” Slade replied. “Still, there may be some clue she doesn’t realize she’s withholding. Maybe the Munson woman mentioned it casually, and whatever she said didn’t register with Nicki at the time.”
“It would help if we had a better idea exactly what we’re looking for.”
Slade scowled. “Yeah. No kidding.”
Listening without continuing to make eye contact, Jackson kept trying various phone numbers. The ones connected to his ranch or his uncle had mechanical responses. The one that was Nicki’s simply reported that she was unavailable and had not set up a voice mail account.
Jackson gave his superior a serious look. “I need to go home. Now.”
“I agree. Tell dispatch where you’re headed and keep us posted.” He leaned back in his desk chair and laced his fingers behind his head. “I’m sure it’s nothing. Too bad we can’t teach your dog to use a telephone.”
That notion sat heavily in Jackson’s gut as he drove out of town. Titan was at home with Nicki and Harold, giving him one more worry rather than a sense of peace. Since Valerie Salgado’s dog had been shot and maimed, not to mention prior minor injuries to other dogs in the K-9 unit, like Kip, he’d been more on edge. He and Titan had survived a war zone. It would be ironic if coming home to the States caused worse damage than the PTSD the Lab was already suffering.
Using his thumb on redial he kept calling Harold’s cell. Somebody had to hear and answer eventually.
Surely they would.
Unless something terrible had happened.
* * *
Nicki’s breathing was shallow, her eyes wide. She knew she was gaping at the stranger, but couldn’t manage to pretend that seeing the small, silver pistol in his hand didn’t bother her.
Harold was backed up against the edge of the kitchen counter, still armed but apparently convinced that drawing his gun would be foolhardy. She agreed. No one could be fast enough to outmaneuver a bullet, particularly one fired from such a short distance.
The interloper barely glanced her way so she remained motionless, waiting, while the phone in her pocket repeatedly played bars from “Yellow Rose.”
Growling, Titan stayed with her.
Finally, the armed man said, “Quiet that dog down before I shoot it, and move over closer to the old man where I can keep an eye on you both. Turn off your cell and put it on the counter with his. Do it. Now!”
Making visual contact with Harold, she saw his slight nod, so she grabbed Titan’s collar to control him and took a few tentative steps to comply. “What’s going on?”
“I’m about to get what I came for,” the man announced hoarsely. Nicki could tell he had not been faking the physical strain from leaving his car on the road and hiking to the barn, but she doubted he’d done so because he’d really broken down.
Harold stepped in front of Nicki as soon as she closed the distance between them. “Whatever you want, you can have. Help yourself. Just leave us alone,” he said with a firm tone.
“Butt out, old man. My business is with the woman.”
“Forget it. She’s off-limits.”
Nicki saw their adversary’s eyes narrow as he took a step forward, so she raised her free hand with the cell phone in it to signify compliance as she laid it aside. If she’d thought she could have grabbed Harold’s gun and fired in time she might have tried, but good sense prevailed. Even if she did manage to get off a shot, she knew the other man would fire, too. And if he didn’t shoot her, he’d certainly wound or kill poor Harold and maybe Titan, too.
“I don’t want anybody to get hurt,” Nicki insisted. She left the little phone and edged away from her erstwhile protector. “Please don’t shoot. Just let me put the dog outside. Okay?”
“Good idea. Then shut the door. Don’t try any tricks and nobody’ll get hurt.” He stepped to his left and gestured at Harold with the short barrel of his pistol. “You. Sit in that chair over there and put your hands behind your back so she can tie you up.”
Although the older man did move, it was with evident reluctance. “What’s all this about? Who are you?”
“What do you care?”
“It’s right on the tip of my tongue,” Nicki mumbled to herself. “German-sounding, I think. Luther?”
As she continued to guess, she was late looking at Harold so she didn’t see him rapidly shaking his head until she’d said, “I know...it’s Gunther. Gunther Lamont. I’ve seen you before. In church, I think it was.”
Harold’s moan signaled her that she’d made a big mistake. Of course she had. She was too honest to consider the fact that identifying the armed businessman would not bode well for her ultimate survival. Then again, they had no guarantee either of them would live through this long afternoon, let alone greet tomorrow.
Gunther sidled up behind Harold and slipped the old man’s sidearm free of the holster, then tucked it into his own waistband before telling Nicki, “Take that extension cord over there and tie him up. Do a good job or I’ll shoot him to make sure he stays put.”
“Okay, okay.” Her hands were trembling, her fingers felt stiff and unwieldy, yet she managed to secure Harold well. She might have tried to arrange an easy escape for him if Lamont had not threatened him with bodily harm.
Nicki straightened and backed away as soon as she was done. With Harold out of commission and Titan banished to the yard, her chances of escape were slim to none.
“What do you want from us?”
“Just from you, Nicolette. I’m an old friend of your cousin, Arianna. Or maybe you know her the way I do, as the Serpent.”
“You’re part of all that? Why? You’re an upstanding citizen.”
“Was,” Lamont said with chagrin. “I didn’t start out looking for criminal connections—they just happened in the course of some slightly shady business dealings that didn’t turn out as planned.”
“Then it’s not too late for you,” Nicki insisted. “If you didn’t mean to break the law, maybe...”
“Oh, I meant to. And I’m not done, either. Once I get the code from you and know where to look, I’ll be home free.”
“That code again.” Disgusted, she raised her hands, palms up, and stared at him, trying to decide if he had the guts to actually shoot anybody. Judging by the way he was perspiring and the way his gun hand shook, it was a toss-up. He might mean to fire or his nerves might make his finger twitch and pull the trigger. The result would be the same.
“Yes, the code. You may as well confess.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t know what was going on when Arianna brought it up, and I don’t know now. I swear.”
“Don’t try to kid me, lady. It’s paces from someplace in the Lost Woods, like a treasure map, only verbal. So many steps to the left or right, then another number from there and another after that. Get it?”
“Um, I think so.” Her gaze met Harold’s for a split second, and she saw understanding dawn. He was shaking his head, trying to talk her out of doing anything without actually issuing the warning in so many words.
Nicki was not about to be deter
red. If she kept insisting she didn’t know this code everybody was after, this man might be desperate enough to shoot her sooner, rather than later. And Harold, too.
“Let me think,” Nicki drawled, pretending to remember. “Arianna and I used to play a game like that when we were kids. It was based on our birth dates and years of birth. I think I actually may have an idea what she was talking about when she mentioned me and a code.”
“That’s better.” Lamont mopped his beady brow again. “Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“To the Lost Woods, of course. You don’t think I’d be dumb enough to take you at your word and just walk away, do you? You’re coming with me. If you help me find where the Jones kid hid the stash, I may decide to let you go.”
“Jones?” Nicki’s voice rose. “I was right? This whole mess started with Daniel Jones?”
The armed man laughed dryly. “That’s irrelevant at this point. He’s dead, and the secret could have died with him if not for your dearly departed cousin.”
“How would Arianna find out? Did she even know Daniel Jones?”
“That doesn’t matter. Nothing does, as long as you lead me to the spot I’m looking for.” He gestured with the pistol. “Move.”
“What about the dog? He may be upset when you try to take me away.” She hardened her voice as best she could. “If you harm Titan I will not help you. Period.”
“Fine. Go get him and tie him up with the old man or shut him in a closet. I don’t care. Just make it snappy. I haven’t got all day.”
Nor do I, Nicki realized with alarm. She hadn’t come to grips with the full significance of this situation until that very moment. She could die at any time. So could her innocent baby.
She squeezed her eyes shut for a few seconds and prayed harder than ever before. Words failed her. Her heart did the asking. All she wanted was to live and to protect the people she cared about. And Titan.
It wouldn’t have seemed like such a difficult prayer if she had not foreseen disaster for everyone, including and especially, Jackson Worth.
Yet he was her only hope. The only one who might discover her plight in time to orchestrate a rescue.
Explosive Secrets (Texas K-9 Unit) Page 16
