High-Risk Reunion

by Margaret Daley

  When he returned to the living room, both Tory and Michelle were waiting by the door. He looked at Tory. “Getting a little stir-crazy too?”

  “Something like that.”

  Nothing in her expression gave away what she was thinking. Was she worried he’d say something to Michelle about who he was? The mix-up in the past had been cleared up, but it had been obvious their love hadn’t been as strong as they had once thought. Once as a teenager, his world had revolved around Tory. The only time he had really argued with her was when he wanted to sign up for the army. He did what he felt he had to do, but their relationship began to fall apart with time and distance. Derek had been here to pick up the pieces. He hadn’t.

  As they strolled toward the barn, Michelle hurried her pace. “Do you have any horses? I love horses.”

  “Yes, but they’re out to pasture. Horses are only kept in the barn if they’re sick or the weather is bad.”

  “Oh,” his daughter murmured, slowing down to a crawl as though there wasn’t any other reason to go into the building. “Then why are we coming out here? Do you have other animals in there?”

  “There are a couple of stray cats that hang around and keep the mice population down. Also a mixed-breed dog that wandered onto the ranch last summer and has decided to stay. Uncle Ben named him Buddy. He likes to stay outdoors most of the time. Comes to the house only to be fed and see Bella from time to time. I’m pretty sure he’s the father to her soon-to-be puppies.” Cade scanned the area the whole way to the barn.

  He hoped this solution would satisfy Michelle. The ranch was much easier to defend, with its flat terrain and not much in the way of a hiding place for three or four hundred yards around his house. He reached the door, unlocked it and swung it wide, then went in first, giving a quick sweep of the barn’s interior.

  Behind him Michelle exclaimed, “You moved the hoop. Why?”

  “I thought it would be safer for you when you want to shoot hoops. You can practice in here so long as someone is with you—the deputy, Uncle Ben or myself. In fact, I’d love to shoot with you. It’s been years, so I’m hoping it’s like riding a bicycle. Once I start again, it’ll all come back to me.”

  “You want to play now? Mom can’t hit a hoop if her life de...” Michelle snapped her mouth closed, the color fading from her face. “I mean Mom prefers watching rather than playing.”

  “That’s because you’ve got talent. I don’t. I’m a great cheerleader so you two play.” Tory shared a look with Cade that warmed him.

  He remembered those times she would watch him play and cheered for him. That was when life was much simpler. He walked into the tack room and retrieved the only basketball that had air in it. When he came out, he tossed it to Michelle. “Let’s play one-on-one. You keep time, Tory. Thirty minutes.”

  For the next half an hour the score remained close until Michelle made a shot and Tory shouted, “Time.”

  Cade grinned. “You’re good. You take after your father.”

  Holding the ball, Michelle smiled from ear to ear. “That’s what Mom says. He was a great teacher. Thanks for fixing this up.” She headed to the tack room with the basketball.

  Cade swiped the back of his forearm across his forehead. “Never thought that would ever happen.”

  Tory’s expression transformed from a grin into a pensive look, her eyes darkening.

  He covered the distance to her, glanced at the tack room and whispered, “I told you I won’t say anything to Michelle, and I’ll keep my word, but I’d like to have more opportunities like this with her.”

  As Michelle returned, Tory nodded. “Thanks.” Then to her daughter she said, “I don’t know about you, but I worked up an appetite watching you guys play. Ben is fixing beef stew for dinner. Let’s see if we can eat a little early.”

  “I’m game,” Michelle said, a smile still lighting her face.

  Cade followed them to the house. As they entered, his cell phone rang. He checked the number, but didn’t recognize it. He paused and let Tory and Michelle go into the living room before he answered it. “Morgan here.”

  “I’m being framed. I didn’t kill the judge.”

  “Is this Pedro Mederos?”

  “Yes.”

  “Where are you?”

  “Someplace you won’t find me, but you’re being played.”

  Then the connection went dead. Cade looked up.

  Tory stood in the entrance to the living room, watching him. “Bad news?”

  “It was Pedro Mederos telling me he didn’t kill Judge Parks.”

  “Do you believe him?”

  “Let’s say I’m keeping an open mind. It seemed mighty convenient that his fingerprint was found on the handle of the tailgate of the truck as though someone wants us to tie the judge’s murder to Mederos.”

  “But sometimes the criminals aren’t smart. Pedro isn’t savvy like his brother. He could have made that mistake in the passion of the murder.”

  “And go against what his brother wanted?”

  “You only have Mederos’s word that he didn’t tell his gang to go after Judge Parks. I can see him doing whatever he needs to do to get off. Terrorizing others is a tactic he uses a lot.”

  He cut the space between them. “We’ll get to the bottom of this. You and Michelle aren’t safe until then, so I have a lot at stake.”

  “I’m not sure what would have happened if you hadn’t stepped forward. Your ranch is the perfect place for us to stay. And the chance to practice basketball hopefully will make it bearable for Michelle. She doesn’t always make good decisions.”

  “What teen does? I can remember a few we made.”

  She grinned. “Just a few?”

  “Okay, more than a few.”

  “Cade, Michelle wasn’t one of them.”

  “I agree. I’ve enjoyed getting to know her.”

  “What if things had been different fifteen years ago? Have you ever wondered that?”

  “Sure.” A lot more than he wanted to admit, especially since he’d returned to El Rio. He’d even played the “what-if” game. What if he hadn’t gone into the army after 9/11? What if he hadn’t been sent away on a secret mission for months?

  “So have I. Especially lately.”

  He inched closer, drawn to her. Part of him was surprised. It must be the close quarters they were keeping. He was around her a lot lately.

  No matter how much he told himself it wouldn’t work between them. Their past was a huge barrier to any relationship. And then there was Michelle. The more he was around her, the more he wanted to be in her life.

  “We should talk again when this is over with,” he murmured close to her, his eyes trained on her mouth.

  He wanted to kiss her. He shouldn’t, but she lifted her chin and their gazes connected. He leaned closer, his heart revving into overdrive. His lips grazed like a whisper over hers.

  FIVE

  Tory wanted Cade to kiss her. She could still remember how it had felt years ago. His lips brushed across hers. His scent surrounded her, flinging her back to the time they used to go horseback riding, relishing every moment together.

  “Mom. Cade.” The sound of approaching footsteps jerked her back to the present.

  Tory put several feet between her and Cade as Michelle walked through the living room to them.

  “Ben has dinner on the table.” Michelle shifted her gaze between them, her forehead scrunching. “Is something wrong?”

  The heat of Tory’s blush couldn’t fade fast enough. “No.” She headed for the kitchen, at a loss for words. How much had Michelle seen?

  “Your mother was soothing my bruised ego after losing to you at basketball.”

  “You didn’t let me win, did you?” her daughter asked.

  “No way. I
t was fair and square.”

  “Good. I’ll never get better if you let me win.”

  “I might have to practice before I play you again.”

  Michelle giggled.

  Tory hadn’t heard that sound much lately. It was good to hear in the middle of everything that was going on.

  “I’ve been telling Ben about how I creamed you,” Michelle said as she came into the kitchen a couple of paces ahead of Cade.

  He laughed. “Creamed me? I hardly call winning by two points a defeat. Next time I’ll show you what creaming someone is.”

  Ben placed the bowl of beef stew in the middle of the table. “I can see I’m gonna have to referee the game.”

  “Do you play basketball?” Michelle took Ben’s hand and Cade’s.

  “Who do you think taught your dad—and Cade how?” Ben ducked his head and began to say grace.

  Tory’s heart thumped. The near slip illustrated how easy it was to let down her guard. She added a short, silent plea at the end of the blessing. Michelle needed to be protected not just physically but also emotionally.

  * * *

  After the medical examiner gave his testimony, Judge Duggin, the new judge assigned to the trial, dismissed court for the day. Tory glanced at her watch and noted the time was a little earlier than yesterday. After a long, tension-filled day, she was glad to leave. Twisting around in her chair, she caught sight of Cade sitting at the back of the courtroom. He smiled, and suddenly she didn’t feel so tired. His presence lifted her spirits.

  When she talked with Michelle at lunch today, she’d wanted to know how the trial was going. If her daughter had her wish, the case would be over as soon as possible. She felt like she was letting down her basketball team because they were playing tonight without her. Tory wanted it over with, but the defense attorney was dragging things out. The only reason she could think of was that Mederos’s men hadn’t discovered the star witness’s location.

  Cade met her halfway down the center aisle, nodding at Officer Sims, who was her guard, then asked her, “How did it go?”

  “Tedious. The defense questioned every finding the ME gave. All I want to do is get out of here. How about your day?”

  “Still searching for Pedro Mederos. Every lead is a dead end. I’m beginning to believe the teen really is far away from here. When is your star witness going to testify?”

  “Hopefully in a couple of days. We have some other witnesses subpoenaed to testify first.”

  Cade opened the courtroom door and stepped out first, panning the hallway before signaling her to leave. Officer Sims followed behind her as they made their way to the exit closest to the parking lot. Cade had left the new car he was using in a spot as near to the door as possible. But there was still twenty feet to cover.

  Tory didn’t breathe until she slid into the front passenger seat. The vehicle Cade was using for transporting her to and from the ranch was bulletproof. One would also be used for the star witness. The state wanted Mederos convicted, and this was their best shot at doing it.

  But she couldn’t wait to have her life back.

  As she waved goodbye to her police guard, Cade started the SUV and pulled out of the parking lot. “Detective Alexander has exhausted any leads from the forensics collected at your house. There are latent prints in the bathroom, but they don’t match anyone in the system, which doesn’t help us right now.”

  “At the trial they’ll help convict the intruder.”

  “If we can find who they match.”

  “So we don’t know who broke in or for that matter why.”

  “No. Members of the biker gang I talked to earlier today insisted it wasn’t them who trashed your house and killed the judge. The ones whose fingerprints are on record didn’t match what was in your house so there wasn’t much we could do there.”

  “Now that’s a surprise they didn’t confess.” Tory tried to keep a straight face, but a grin teased the corners of her mouth.

  “Actually when I talked to them, there wasn’t anything in their body language to indicate they were lying.”

  “I imagine they’ve had a lot of practice at lying.”

  “True, but something doesn’t feel right with all that’s been going on. What’s been happening just keeps raising more questions. Did Pedro kill Judge Parks or did someone set him up as he and his brother say? If so, why did that person do it? What is his objective? I feel like there’s something else occurring here or there is more than one plan in play.”

  “So you think Mederos and his brother are telling the truth about Judge Parks?”

  Cade stopped at the intersection leading to the highway. “Trashing your house and taking those photos might not be connected to the judge’s murder. I have to look at all possibilities.”

  “We have to. I have a big stake in this. My daughter’s life is in danger.”

  “Our daughter.”

  Tory nodded, closing her eyes. “It’ll be good to return to the ranch.” The realization she meant every word took her by surprise. When did her feelings start changing? For years, she’d been angry at Cade and felt betrayed. Now she couldn’t quite pinpoint what she was feeling.

  She released a long calming breath as they approached Cade’s two-story adobe house. “I hope Ben hasn’t been pulling his hair out while trying to get Michelle to do her schoolwork.”

  “I doubt it. With me he used to be a regular drill sergeant. Not much got past him.”

  The second the SUV pulled up to Cade’s home, Michelle flew out the front door and nearly leaped down the porch steps. “I’m finished with my assignments. Let’s go play basketball,” she announced as Cade climbed from the car.

  Poor Ben. He had to contain all that energy today. Tory exited the vehicle and greeted the deputy sheriff on duty seconds before Michelle grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the barn. “Hold it. Let us go inside, put our stuff up and get something to drink.”

  “But I’ve been inside all day. A gal has to have fresh air.”

  Cade came up behind them and hooked his arm around each one’s shoulder. “C’mon. I need to change into some workout clothes because I intend to stomp all over you.”

  “In your dreams,” Michelle said with a laugh.

  “This sounds serious. I hope Ben will referee.” Tory mounted the steps, so glad her daughter had something to look forward to.

  Cade’s uncle swung the door wide and stood in the entrance. “She’s been waiting at the door the last half an hour.” Then as Michelle entered first, Ben leaned close to Tory and whispered, “Promising she’d shoot hoops was the only way I could get her to do her schoolwork.”

  “You’ll deserve a medal when this is over with. Thanks for watching her, Ben.”

  “Anytime.” Then in a lower tone he added, “I see a lot of her father in her.”

  That comment stayed with Tory while she changed into jeans, tennis shoes and a T-shirt. The more she saw Cade and Michelle together, the more similarities she discovered—the way they tilted their head when listening to someone or the way a smile took over their whole expression. But mostly when she looked at Cade’s eyes, the resemblance was so obvious—more than she had originally thought. Would her daughter ever notice? Would others when Cade and Michelle were side by side?

  In the kitchen Tory grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator, then shut the door. When she turned, three sets of eyes were on her.

  “Mom, you are so slow. Good thing you don’t play basketball.”

  “It’s been a long day, but I’m ready now.”

  On the trek to the barn Cade kept up with Michelle while Ben walked with Tory, thankfully at a much slower pace. “I wish I had her energy.”

  “I know what you mean. In desperation, I let her dribble the ball in the kitchen when she took a break from her scho
olwork. And thankfully Bella helped the situation until I had to let her outside.”

  “Michelle isn’t used to being so confined.”

  “I had to resort to taking her cell phone away when I kept catching her reading texts from her friends. I wonder if any of them were listening to their teachers.”

  “She has the ability to text while looking right at you.”

  “These kids’ skill sets today are so different from when I was growing up.”

  “The world is rapidly changing.”

  While Cade unlocked the front barn door and swung it wide, Michelle darted inside.

  Seconds later, a scream chilled the air.

  Tory froze.

  Cade ran inside.

  Ben grabbed Tory’s arm and rushed toward the barn.

  When she entered the dimly lit interior, her gaze fixed on Michelle, standing in front of the hoop. An inflatable plastic woman hung dangling from a rope tied around its neck. Tory hurried forward and hugged her daughter. Michelle shook in the circle of her arms.

  Words of solace fled Tory’s mind as she stared at a photo of her entering the courtroom this morning attached to the chest of the life-size plastic doll. She fought to keep from shuddering, but she couldn’t stop the fear from washing over her.

  They know where we are.

  “You all need to get back to the house. Wait just a second.” Cade took out his cell phone and snapped pictures of the hanging doll, then strode to the trio near the exit. He tossed his keys to his uncle. “Bring the SUV around. I don’t want them exposed any more than they have to be.”

  As Ben loped over to the car, Cade shielded them with his body and kept his attention riveted to their surroundings.

  Tory held Michelle, sure that her daughter felt the hammering of her heartbeat against her chest. It was bad enough that Michelle saw her trashed bedroom and the bathroom, but this was far worse. Someone wanted them to realize there was nowhere they would be safe. A taunt, and plainly a threat against Tory.

  Cade opened the two doors so Ben could drive the car into the barn. Once everyone was in the vehicle, Ben backed out and headed for the house.