Cowboy Boots and Uncensored Behavior

by Acres, Natalie

  Chapter Three

  “Mr. Davenport, you’re looking better today,” Maria said quietly before strolling across the room to stand before Cade.

  “Thanks,” Drake said.

  “You must be Mr. Livingston.” She paused then and took a deep breath before adding, “I’m Maria Rodriquez. I’ll be checking in on you over the next few weeks.”

  Cade massaged his neck and studied the small hand extended in front of him. Not only was her hand in front of him, but her tiny splayed fingers were mere inches from his cock. The lone fact left him twitching in his slacks.

  “Are you all right, Cade?” Concern etched Drake’s brow. “You don’t look so hot.”

  Cade glanced at Drake and then shifted his gaze back to Maria. He was aware of Ace and Abby there but he couldn’t focus on anyone in particular. The faces around the room blurred. He felt as if he were spinning out of control yet fully capable of reeling himself back in.

  After a few seconds, Maria dropped her arm. Patting his shoulder, she said, “Let’s take a look at that eye.”

  Before he could stop himself, he grabbed hold of her wrist and clung to her as if she were an enemy. “Touch my patch and you’ll lose an arm.”

  “Cade!” Ace darted across the room and yanked Maria out of the way.

  Drake grabbed him by the shoulders to steady him. “Cade, relax, brother. Come on now. No harm will be done to you here.”

  Shaking free of Drake’s grip, he snarled. “I ain’t your brother.”

  Acting as if he’d been slapped in the face, Drake retreated. “You aren’t feeling well. I get that.”

  Apparently alarmed, Maria waited in a nearby corner. Abby went to her. Full of excuses, she said, “He hasn’t been home long. He’s been acting peculiar.” Forcing a smile, Abby shot him a stern glare and added, “He’s been through a lot.”

  “I…I understand,” Maria stammered, her cool gaze pierced through his. “It’s probably…difficult for him to uh…for him to return here without his friends.”

  “Who told you I lived with my friends?” Cade snapped, already suspicious of her after Drake explained she was the only nurse out of fifteen possible candidates who had passed their clearance. Why was that? How could that happen when several different nurses had taken care of him at the hospital?

  Too perfect equated to numerous flaws. Her story was fixed, manipulated. He’d bet the bank on that one.

  “Maria spent some time here yesterday.” Drake watched her as if he had already bedded her a few times. Knowing Drake, he’d thought about it. Hell, knowing Drake, he’d probably already sealed the deal.

  “Mr. Livingston, I’m not here to hurt you.” She approached him again.

  Dr. Belfonte, O.R. please. Dr. Belfonte. O.R. please.

  “I’m here to help you.” She eased another inch or two forward.

  Dr. Belfonte. O.R. Stat.

  Cade snarled. He blinked then as the past came roaring back. Gunfire exploded in his eardrums. Images from the torture he’d endured flashed in his mind’s eye.

  “Wait,” Abby warned her, but Maria was already a few feet from him.

  “I won’t hurt you,” Maria said. “You can trust me.”

  Why would you do this? What kind of monster are you?

  Cade cocked his head to the side and closed his eye. That voice! Damn it to hell! He’d been certain at the hospital, just as he was sure now! He’d recognized that syrupy-sweet voice at the hospital. Her tone and dialect were familiar!

  Cade stalked her then.

  “Cade. You need to lie down,” Drake said.

  Cade pushed him aside and marched on, pursuing her as she retreated, trying to back away one step at a time.

  “Who are you?”

  “I’m your nurse.”

  He slammed his forearm against the wall and stared down at her. “Like hell you are!”

  Ace tried to intervene again, but Cade knocked him aside. It was as if someone else was pushing his buttons, using a remote control to dictate which way he walked, how he stalked her.

  “Mr. Livingston, there’s no reason for you to be alarmed.”

  What kind of monster are you?

  “Man, you have her mixed up with someone else!” Ace tried to drag him away once more.

  Damn it! She’d been there. She’d been in that dungeon when he and Drake had been held captive! Now, he was seconds away from grabbing hold of a woman who held the answers he needed, a woman who could point him in the direction of those who had held him hostage and killed his teammates, the friends who once resided under this very roof!

  He wanted answers and in the depths of his soul, he knew this woman possessed the knowledge he needed! “Who are you?”

  She shivered. “No one important.”

  He slammed his fist beside her head. “I asked you a question!”

  “Cade!” Abby bellowed. “Stand down!”

  “Stay out of this, Abby,” Cade snapped.

  “I told you.” She held her head higher. “I’m Maria Rodriquez. I’m your nurse.”

  “Who do you work for?” Cade demanded.

  Drake grabbed his arm. “You’re disoriented. Stop this. Maria works for us now. She isn’t here to hurt you.”

  Cade shrugged him away. “Drake, I know what I’m doing.” After his firm reassurance resonated around them, his fellow operatives stilled. He held up a hand to Ace, who was within saving distance of Maria.

  Fucker. This woman didn’t need saving. In fact, this woman was so good, that he’d actually fantasized about her! Now, he knew with absolute certainty—she wasn’t on his side. She’d been there when others had tried to kill him!

  “Maria, why don’t we let Cade get some rest? You can come back tomorrow.”

  What was Drake trying to do? Didn’t he recognize her voice? Had he been out cold when she’d screamed at her cohorts and partners at the warehouse? Wasn’t he suspicious at all?

  Why would you do this? What kind of monster are you?

  What had she expected? She’d obviously been in that building with thugs, those who were there with a killing agenda, those who were responsible for taking the lives of his friends. Those he’d fought to save!

  “Who do you answer to? Who is your boss?”

  “I work at the hospital,” she replied, clutching her medical bag. “I saw you a few times while you were in ICU.”

  “Why were you the only nurse who checked out? Why were you cleared by the authority?”

  “What authority?” she asked, addressing Abby. “I don’t know anything about an authority.”

  “Don’t look at her. Look at me. Answer me! Why were you the only nurse who checked out?”

  Abby jerked to attention. He finally had Goldilocks’s attention—a little too much and a little too late because Maria shot Abby a scornful look, one that showed how quickly her demeanor could change.

  “I don’t know anything about the authority.” Her dark eyes widened. Her arrogance was nearly legendary, noticeable because it was so similar to an Underground Unit agent’s attitude. When pushed in a corner, an agent fought their way out.

  They didn’t crumble under pressure. They didn’t fold.

  What happened to the stuttering and stammering around? He should’ve told her she was playing her hand and turning up her cards too soon. Ditching the demure act was a dead giveaway, one even his fellow operatives would note as well.

  “I can’t tell you anything about checking out. I don’t know how many people were cleared…”

  “One,” Cade informed her quickly. “Only one. You.”

  Maria’s skin color didn’t fade. Her cheeks turned bright red. She was angry and Cade had no plans for leniency. He had remembered enough to know she had been present the night Manny, David and Phillip had lost their lives. Had she been responsible?

  Why would you do this? What kind of monster are you?

  Maybe not, but she could lead them to the man or men behind the assault. She could take them to the person
responsible for his teammates’ deaths!

  “Who the hell do you work for?” He lunged at her without regard to the consequences. If he was wrong, he’d later apologize. He could afford a rare mistake. What he wouldn’t risk was another near-miss with his life.

  “Cade, give her some space!” Abby yelled, grabbing Maria by the arm. She guided her to the door, leading her away from him. “Tomorrow would be better. Drop by anytime. Cade will feel more like himself after he has some rest.”

  Maria glanced over her shoulder. Her eyes narrowed. Her dark pupils were barely visible. Her lips set in a firm line.

  “Dr. Belfonte, O.R. please. Dr. Belfonte. O.R. please,” Cade mimicked her voice.

  Abby slowly turned around. The expression on her face was priceless. Now, she remembered. Cade knew Abby must’ve recalled how he stalled at the sound of this chick’s voice pouring through the hospital intercom system!

  Rather than escorting Maria to the foyer, Abby pulled away from her and said, “On second thought, why don’t I fix some tea? Then, we can all sit down and talk.”

  “I don’t want a damn cup of tea!” Cade yelled. “I want this woman to tell me who she is and who she works for and I don’t want to be put on hold until the day after tomorrow!”

  “I work for the private hospital,” Maria said, almost as if she’d been programmed to tell him the very same.

  “This is insane.” Drake cupped Cade’s shoulder. “You clearly have her mixed up with someone else.”

  Cade turned on him. “Think, Drake. You went through hell. I understand what you’ve endured, but hone in on those skills you’ve relied upon in the past. Focus, man. Focus for me…for Manny, David, and Phillip. Damn it. Listen to her voice!”

  Drake narrowed his gaze on Maria. He didn’t look at her as if he only saw the five foot three frame of a curvy Hispanic beauty. He no longer appeared interested in those perky, full breasts. He wasn’t thinking about the pout of her luscious red lips or focusing on how well her scrubs clung to her flesh like a second skin.

  Drake was remembering!

  “I want you to say, ‘Why would you do this? What kind of monster are you’ and say it as if you are afraid.” Drake’s Adam’s apple twitched. His upper lip curled.

  Her quick and shallow breath resounded in that quiet room like a dropped bomb in Hiroshima. Her face flushed with awareness as she quickly scanned the area, obviously searching for a means of escape. Abby reached behind her and shut the bedroom door. Ace closed the distance between them.

  Cade felt an overwhelming sense of relief. His fellow operatives would stand with him now. Drake had remembered something, too. He was suspicious. At the very least, he had recalled the words an unknown woman had screamed right after one of the perpetrators had gleefully announced Manny’s and David’s deaths.

  “I would do what they tell you, Maria,” Abby advised her, playing the good cop, bad cop.

  Maria cleared her throat a few times. Then, in monotone, she methodically said, “What kind of monster are you.”

  She dropped her chin and spoke in a raspy voice as she tried to repeat the line again with minimal inflection. “What kind of monster are you?”

  “She’s deliberately changing her voice,” Drake said.

  “Ya think?” Cade shot him a glance before he stalked her. He would get to the bottom of the truth if he had to shake it out of her.

  “What’s going on here?” Brock asked, marching inside the room and commanding instant attention.

  As if Maria realized she only had one opportunity to grasp, she darted across the room, dove through the open window, tumbled over the shrubs and booked it to her sports car, parked right outside the front door.

  “Stop her!” Cade yelled, jumping out the same window.

  He was too late. As he watched her speed away, there was absolutely nothing he could do except inhale the gas fumes her car had left behind.

  “Damn it!” Drake screamed, sprinting out of the house and punching at the wind.

  “Does someone want to tell me what’s going on here?” Brock exited the house.

  Cade stomped right by Brock. Drake trailed him.

  “Anyone?” Brock asked.

  Cade stopped. Swinging his body around all at one time, he pointed an accusing finger at Brock’s chest. “As usual your timing sucks. I suggest you get on the fucking phone and find out who that girl is and who her real employers are! And don’t give us this shit about how she’s the only home health nurse who checked out! I want to know who she works for and I want to know today!”

  “All right,” Brock said calmly. “Done.”

  “Swell.”

  “I don’t need to make the call, Cade. I’ve got a name for you—Maria Rodriquez. And she works for me.”

  Chapter Four

  “If she’s on your payroll, do you mind telling me why she ran?” Fury strummed through Cade’s veins. This was no time for Donovan to be a crass ass. He knew the Donovans—the authority, or whatever else they wanted to call themselves—were picking up the private nursing tab.

  Maria worked for Brock. He understood that. She apparently worked for someone else, too, but the authority failed to uncover that interesting tidbit of information.

  “I don’t know why she left. I can’t answer that,” Brock replied.

  “Can’t or won’t?” Drake asked.

  “Can’t,” Brock assured him, acknowledging Riley with a tilt of his head when he entered the living room. Moving around the square coffee table running over with books and DVDs, he glanced at the cover of a magazine as if he were uninterested in the business at hand.

  Cade stood back and observed. The Donovans were up to something. He’d worked with Brock and Riley enough to know how they acted when they were hiding big secrets from the rest of the team. When they kept information from their fellow operatives, they put all of them in danger. Lives had been lost for what was too often explained as the greater good.

  “How do you know her?” Cade asked. “And don’t give me this crap that you didn’t know her at all before you hired her as a nurse. Does she even hold a nursing degree?”

  “No,” Riley replied.

  “Why am I not surprised?” Drake’s nostrils flared. “Tell ya what, boys. When you want to work as a team again, you let us know. Until then, there’s no reason for us to be here. You cost three of our friends their lives. I won’t stick around and wait to see what else you have in store.”

  “You’re putting that on us?” Brock asked.

  Rage corded Drake’s neck. “Damn right I am!”

  Brock and Riley looked unmoved. Classic Donovans.

  “We deserved that,” Riley finally said.

  Brock snorted. “Maybe you did, but I didn’t. We withheld information because we were in a position of authority. We made an upper management call and I stand by that decision.”

  “You make no apologies for sending our team into a free-for-all cartel slaughter?” Drake’s eyes widened with his anger. “You’re a piece of work, Donovan.”

  “Technically,” Brock began calmly, “we didn’t send you to the warehouse. You made the choice to follow a lead.”

  Ace and Abby locked in a knowing gaze. They kept their focus on one another, seemingly afraid to look anywhere else. Perhaps they feared they’d choose a side they shouldn’t take.

  “I’m with Drake—you’re in a class of your own, Donovan, a real piece of work,” Cade said.

  “I’ve been called worse.” Brock tilted his head at the chair across from him. “Now sit down and let’s talk.”

  “Are you ready to shoot straight with us?” Drake asked.

  “If you want to hear the long, boring story, you bet,” Brock replied.

  “We have all night,” Cade said, sitting.

  Silence divided the room and separated operatives. Riley and Brock were on one side, Drake and Cade kept their distance, and Abby and Ace occupied the middle ground, perhaps braced for a war of words and elevated tempers. Cade woul
dn’t mind throwing a few punches, too, but he knew better. In this room, operatives rubbed shoulders with their equals.

  “Maria is straight out of the academy. Her brother encouraged her to enter the law enforcement field for his own twisted purposes. He is a captain in a Mexican cartel-controlled gang and had hoped she’d secure a job at the border.”

  “Cartel-controlled gang?” Drake went to the sink and turned on the faucet. He stuck his head under the spigot and took a sip of water. “Almost sounds like an oxymoron. Any cartel is a gang in my book.”

  “Do you have something against drinking out of a glass?” Riley asked.

  “That would be far too civilized,” Abby teased, moving closer to Ace and catching a snarl from Brock.

  The Underground Unit fraternized more internally than Hollywood actors and actresses on set, but when business was on the table, Brock maintained a strict rule about showing affection.

  “Why dirty a glass when I only wanted a sip of water?” Drake asked, drawing the focus once more. “You should be able to relate, Donovan. Why dirty your hands when someone else can bloody theirs?”

  “Back to business.” Brock glared at Riley before addressing everyone around the room. His gaze shifted from one operative to the next. “Some of the cartels have employed the services of several South Texas gangs to traffic their drugs and run guns. Maria was in the academy when we recruited her.”

  “I don’t care where she was. She could’ve been at a roadside motel with her legs splayed and up in the air for all I care. The point is, she was in that warehouse when our men—our friends, Brock—were killed!” Drake yanked a chair sideways and took a seat.

  “Are you sure about that?” Brock asked.

  “Positive.” Cade supplied the reply. Drake agreed with a quick nod.

  “It’s the only thing that makes sense, Brock.” Abby kept her voice level and gained the unit leader’s undivided attention. “When the guys questioned her, she became agitated. When you entered the room, you more or less provided the distraction she needed to make her getaway.”