“Yes, but I think the printout of his photo from the dating site is still at the café.”
“You have a photo of him?”
Mac’s voice was calm, but there was no missing the impatience rolling off him.
“Yes, and his bio information. It’s probably all a lie, but there could be a semblance of truth in it you can use.”
“Where is it?”
“Last time I saw it, Marcus set it on the shelf above the sink. Unless he threw it away, it should still be there.”
Mac moved behind Lexie, and with his lips to her ear, growled, “I need to make a call. Don’t leave this room.”
She slammed down her annoyance. Why did he always treat her like she didn’t have the sense God gave a goat? “I’m going to ignore your obnoxious tone this one time, McNeil. Go do your thing.”
Mac drew her against him and brought his lips down, capturing her mouth in an intense kiss. The sensual assault lasted for an instant before he broke away. “That’s so generous of you, Trevena.” Releasing her as quickly, he stormed out of the room as a nurse entered.
“Miss, I need you to wait outside.”
Cole let out a choked laugh. “She was ordered to stay put. It’s okay with me if she waits on the other side of the curtain.” He repositioned himself on the bed and nodded at Lexie. “This guy isn’t going away. I hope you realize that.” A deep sadness entered his eyes. “I wish Marcus were here to see your face.”
She didn’t have a response, but she didn’t need one. The nurse shut the curtain between them. She rested her hip against the window and touched her lips. God, that man could kiss. It was hard, fast, but tender at the same time.
She tuned out the conversation between Cole and the nurse as she placed a hand over her heart. The rapid beat bounced against her palm, and it was as if every nerve in her body fired at once. Why was Mac doing this to her? He couldn’t be interested in forming something between them. And before she had a chance to truly appreciate the moment, he just pulled away, leaving her wanting something she never knew existed.
It wasn’t lust because she had been down that road with Rico. Mac wasn’t her white-hat-hero who rides in and saves the day. She knew better than to depend on anyone to get her out of trouble. That hard lesson had been drilled into her since childhood. Still, Mac was working his way under her shields, touching her in a place no one had ever cared enough to reach, and that scared the hell out of her. She had to get some distance between them before she did something really stupid, like fall for the guy. What a disaster that would be. Rico’s rejection had bruised her soul; Mac would destroy it.
A phone rang from the other side of the curtain. From a small gap, Lexie watched the nurse turn off the phone and put it in her lab coat. An instant later, it rang again.
“I just turned it off. How is it ringing?” The nurse glanced at Cole. “Do you mind if I get this? It could be one of my kids.”
“Go ahead. I don’t mind at all.”
After a quick hello, the nurse turned toward Lexie. “Miss, are you Lexie Trevena?”
“Yes.”
“The call is for you. It’s a man.” She held out the phone.
She searched the hallway, but Mac wasn’t there. Squaring her shoulders, she reached for the phone and forced the words out from the back of her throat. “This is Lexie Trevena.”
“It looks like we’re going to have that date after all.”
Ryan. The voice on the other end sent a chill down her spine. “Where is Marcus? Damn it, you better not hurt him, you sick bastard—”
“If you want your friend back alive, you will do exactly what I say. Understand?”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Yes or no, Lexie?”
“Yes.”
“Say nothing to anyone. Walk out the door. Now.”
“Who is it, Lexie?” Cole asked, trying to raise into a sitting position.
She sent him her best reassuring smile, but failed miserably as she walked out the door. Cole’s voice rose in pitch, at first shouting for her to come back, and then yelling for Mac.
She glanced down the hallway. Mac, whose back was to her, was a few yards away. All she had to do was make some kind of sound and he would see her.
“Here’s something that wasn’t in my dating profile. The Marines taught me to be an excellent sniper. I’ll kill your agent where he stands. Turn right and open the second door on your left.”
She followed the instructions and headed toward the door before coming to a stop. “It’s says staff only.”
“It’s unlocked.”
She could feel Mac close. But this disembodied voice had already killed a federal agent in cold blood. He wouldn’t think twice before killing Mac. With a shaky hand, she turned the doorknob.
“Good. Now, glance at the ceiling, camera heaven. Keep your gaze on the floor and don’t say a word to anyone. I’m watching your every move.”
Beads of sweat streamed down her back. After two minutes of hell, the ER exit stood in front of her.
“Walk up to the white van and get into the front seat.”
“Marcus first. Let him go.”
“You don’t have any bargaining chips. Do as I say or I’ll start dropping that nice family in front of you where they stand.”
Again, she swallowed her terror, her concentration on moving one foot in front of the other. And with each step, Mac’s angry, disappointed expression kept pace with her. What if he believed she walked away willingly to meet Ryan? This was going to send Mac over the edge, and he will never forgive her.
Another devastating thought hit her and made the sob in her throat burn. What if Mac didn’t try to find her because he believed she was in on everything from the beginning? How would she ever clear her name?
Lexie jerked her head to rid her mind of that thought. None of it mattered as long as Marcus, Mac, and the bystanders on the sidewalk were safe.
The automatic door opened and she charged toward the van. Mac’s calm voice came from behind her the instant her hand touched the door handle.
“Lexie, where are you going?”
“Get into the van. Now!” A howl of pain from Marcus followed Ryan’s demand.
She turned to warn Mac. “Don’t… I’m sorry. Please take care of my son.”
She swung open the door. As she climbed in, several agents rushed out of the exit.
Mac’s gun was in his hand, but he didn’t raise it. “Don’t get in that van.”
“He’ll kill you.” She mouthed the words, praying Mac understood and trusted her.
“Two seconds,” Ryan threatened into her ear.
Another pain-filled groan came from the back of the van. She slipped into the passenger seat as her gaze never wavered from Mac. The driver peeled away from the curb and headed toward the exit lane. One of the agents stepped into their path, his weapon aimed at the driver.
“You’d better pray your boyfriend has the sense to get his man out of the way.”
“No!”
The driver floored the accelerator. The agent leaped out of the way an instant before the van could plowed him down. He fired two shots. Lexie could hear Mac scream, but she couldn’t make out what he said. At the road, the driver slowed down just enough to make the turn.
“Toss the phone.”
Lexie threw the nurse’s phone out the window. It landed on the grass between the curb and the sidewalk. The side door swung open and they shoved Marcus’s body onto the asphalt. “Marcus!” A scream came from deep inside her throat as her friend rolled a few feet, his arms pinned behind his back and his stomach slamming against the gutter.
Thirteen
The conference room filled with agents, but no one dared glance in Mac’s direction. The wall-sized screen in front of him rendered a black-and-white security image of Lexie outside the ER, the moment she begged him to take care of Gabriel.
Mac’s breathing came in ragged gasps. What did that bastard hold over her head that made her ge
t into that fucking van? Whatever the hell was going on with this case, he had to remain detached even though every muscle in his body screamed to lash out.
A coffee mug came into view. “Take it, Mac,” Jason said, nodding at the mug.
“Last thing I need right now.” He shoved the cup into the center of the table as Joe Díaz entered the room.
“Where are we?” Díaz asked.
“We tracked the van down 12th Street into East Austin, where it was found abandoned. Sarah is refining search patterns,” Mac answered. He was lead agent on the case and losing Lexie fell in his lap.
“So, we’re nowhere, again,” Díaz said.
“That’s my take, sir.” If Mac let the last thread on his control break, there was no telling what he would do. “I take full responsibility for losing Lexie Trevena.”
Jason nudged him. “Mac, no one is blaming you for…”
“She was under my protection.” He swiped a hand across the back of his neck and glared at the screen. “It looked like she got into that van on her own accord.”
“Like hell she did.” Jason jolted from his seat. “She was protecting you, her friend—”
“Was she? Maybe she’s been in on this all along. Look at the facts, Jason. How do you explain any of it?”
Sarah strolled into the room and slammed a file into Mac’s chest before joining Jason at the table. “You’re not thinking logically right now, Mac. I suggest you shut up.”
“If it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck, maybe it’s a damn duck, Sarah.”
“Lexie is the victim. Your pride is impeding your common sense. Since she didn’t dive into your strong, manly arms, then she must be guilty of working with this guy? Really? You’re not that self-absorbed.”
She clicked a few keys on her laptop, and the screen changed. Lexie’s financial statements covered the wall. “The $50,000 deposit and withdrawal from her account yesterday is the only abnormality in the last five years. She’s meticulous where her spending is concerned. Only the basics. No thrills, no frills.” Sarah removed the documents from the screen. “Lexie’s spending patterns reflect who she is, a hard-working single mother.”
“Sarah, can you retrieve any information from the nurse’s cell phone we found with Marcus Aziz?” Díaz asked.
“I could triangulate an optimal position fix between two cell towers from Ryan’s incoming call.” She again loaded a street map of Austin. “The van was located in East Austin, and the signal from the cell phone was only a few blocks away.”
“Where?” Mac couldn’t keep the heat from his voice.
“A parking garage near the Capitol building.”
“Why did Ryan park there?” His mind fleshed out the possibilities of another attack, this time on government buildings.
“I don’t have a clue, but it’s another piece to this puzzle.”
“What about the photo of Ryan?” Díaz asked.
“Your agents located it exactly where Cole Guzman said it would be, and that photo was a small gem of information.” She stopped to gesture impatiently at Mac. “Sit. Your hovering is making even me jumpy.”
He yanked out a chair next to Jason and dropped into it.
“We ran the image through facial recognition, and Ryan has gone to great lengths to erase his digital footprint, but it’s impossible to erase everything.” She pulled up a black-and-white image of a clean-cut guy in uniform with hard eyes and a no-nonsense flex in his jaw. “Meet former Marine sniper, Mick Ryan. After volunteering for several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, he sustained a brain injury from an IED explosion that got him sent home. His military records paint him as a good soldier, but he didn’t settle into civilian life well. I can’t find any employment for three years.”
“Not a lot of positions for a sniper in today’s economy? That’s a shocker,” Jason interrupted.
“It took three assault and battery charges before this guy was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.”
“What’s his beef with Senator Ramirez?” Jason asked, glancing over her shoulder.
“I’m still digging. I can’t hypothesize without a clearer picture.”
Mac glanced at his sister-in-law. “With what you do know, can you guess?”
“I hate guessing.”
“Give it a try.”
“Well, with what I know of Ryan so far, he doesn’t exactly agree with Ramirez’s open border views and is doing everything in his power to force the issue.”
Mac’s hand covered his lower abdomen, but nothing could prevent the acid from burning at the lining of his stomach. “How?”
It took several dead silent moments before Sarah answered.
“There are several anti-immigration groups from south Texas to California who will take advantage of any situation as an argument for a total shutdown of the borders between the United States and Mexico. From the little I have found on Ryan, he associates with members of one of the more aggressive groups. If you wanted the borders closed, what would be the best way to achieve your goal?” Sarah took a quick glance at the agents around the table. “If I had to guess, Mick Ryan is trying to create a border war between the United States and Mexico.”
Mac stood. “So, you predict the next drone attack will come from Mexico into the United States?”
“That’s a guess. There is a lot of data still to process before I can give you a percentage of accuracy.”
“Where does Lexie fit in?”
Sarah shrugged her shoulders. “There is no connection I can find between Ryan and Lexie, nor between the senator and Lexie. Ryan’s using her as a shield, but there is no way to determine what he has on her without a lot more data. But in my gut, Mac, she’s the victim here, and in a lot of trouble. Find her, or that sweet Gabriel will lose the only mother he has.”
Díaz, who had been unusually quiet throughout the meeting, rose. “Sarah, you and your team stick on Ryan, get us as much information as you can.” He turned to the group of agents. “The rest of us are on that drone.”
“What about Lexie?” Mac asked.
“We may not have had enough to arrest her, but it’s on me that she left this building. I don’t believe she needs rescuing.”
Mac’s heart tried to scream yes, she does even though he had his own doubts he couldn’t ignore. He took great pride in his position at the FBI. Was he ready to risk it all for an attraction to a woman he barely knew?
Sarah punched him in the arm. “Lexie needs your help.”
“I have no idea where to look. The APD are searching the roads, and agents are going through miles of traffic camera footage.”
Sarah’s eyes softened. “I may have a crumb of a clue. What is difficult about wiping away your digital footprint is there are things you overlook.” She brought up a map of Texas. “I found a deserted fifty-acre ranch in Ryan’s grandfather’s name out in Brewster County. There have been no utilities turned on the property for over twenty years, and the place is forty miles from the boonies.”
“That’s a few miles from Big Bend National Park. You believe Ryan took Lexie there?”
“It’s just a wild guess, Mac. We know so little about this guy. He may not even be aware of the property.”
“I need you here looking for the drone, not chasing around in the foothills of Big Bend,” Díaz said, his voice harsh, demanding.
“Yeah, but if Lexie is innocent…”
“Look at the evidence. That’s a big if.” Díaz moved toward the door.
It might be a big if, but if Lexie were the victim, then she needed him to act, not just for her, but for Gabriel.
“Can you find me an airport near the ranch?” he asked his sister-in-law.
“Mac, what the hell?” Díaz said from the entrance.
“Joe, you have always appreciated my hunches. This is the only lead we have and I need to check it out if only to cover every base. If I find Lexie, then Ryan and the drone will not be far. If Sarah discovers something else while I’m en route, I’l
l turn around.”
“We’ll turn around,” Jason said.
“Not this time. I’m faster on my own, and you’re needed here.”
“You’re sure as hell not going alone.”
“Yeah, I am.”
Sarah eased in between them before addressing Díaz. “If my opinion matters, I don’t believe it’s a waste of time. Logically, Ryan couldn’t have a better place to hole up.”
Mac edged around his brother. “I have a buddy with a Cessna. I’ll wait until dark to hike in. Just need twenty-four hours.”
“And if you discover Lexie is working with Ryan?”
“I’ll do my job, sir. I’ll arrest her ass and bring her in.”
Fourteen
Beads of sweat rolled down Lexie’s spine as a slow, painful throb began just above her left eye. She eased onto her back on the hard cot, her arm draped over her forehead.
It took a moment to realize that her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. What the hell was wrong with her?
The instant she formed the question in her head, everything came flooding into her memory at once: Mac, Cole, Marcus’s body left behind… Gabriel. Lexie’s breathing grew shallow as a panic attack sucked her under.
She forced her eyes to open and eased into a sitting position. After brushing her tangled hair out of her face, she glanced around the sparse bedroom covered in dust. No wonder she couldn’t catch her breath. Dust was her kryptonite.
Faded floral wallpaper peeled away from the wall in large chunks. Sunrays slipped through the cracks of the shutters, casting a ladder of light across the floor. Focusing all her attention on the light, her reasoning slowly returned as bone-deep fear settled over her.
He drugged me.
How long was she out? Where in the hell was Mac? Was he even looking for her?
Even with her muddled mind, she could still see his heated expression as she got into the van. Nothing said between them the night before mattered. He’d found her guilty and convicted her on the sidewalk of the ER.
Who was the bigger asshole, Ryan, for destroying her life from the inside out, or Mac, who had so little faith in her?
In the Shadow of Pride Book 4 Page 10
