by Jane Graves
“I think I struck gold.”
He opened the file folder and Lisa shined the flashlight on it.
“See these names?” he said. “Looks to me like they belong to pharmaceutical sales reps who are peddling legitimate products along with the counterfeit one. Every one of them is associated with a city, a territory, and a list of pharmacies.”
“Do you see Robert’s name anywhere?”
“No, but unless I miss my guess, this list could lead us right to one of the sales reps, who just might be willing to give Robert up in exchange for immunity. And look at this.”
He flipped a couple of pages, then pointed. “It looks as if the network spreads throughout Texas, running all the way from San Antonio to Dallas, then east to the Louisiana border.”
“Right through Tolosa?”
“Exactly. If I can fax these documents to Alex, he can help us out on that end. Find somebody who’s willing to talk.”
“That’s perfect.”
“Any idea where there’s a fax machine in this town?”
“Sure. At the clinic.”
“Any other place?”
“I have no idea. Santa Rios isn’t exactly the business hub of central Mexico.”
“Then we need to get into the clinic.”
“I have a key. But isn’t that a little dangerous?”
“Would Robert have any reason to be there this late?”
“I can’t see why. But the apartment building where he stays is right next door.”
“As long as we’re careful, we should be able to get in and get out without anyone knowing it. Five minutes, max.”
They left the mining camp with the file folders, and a few minutes later Dave parked the car a block away in the alley that ran behind the clinic. Keeping an eye on the apartments next door, they approached the building, finding it completely dark. Lisa put a key in the lock and let them in. Dave flicked on a flashlight, holding it toward the floor, and they went into the small administrative office and found the fax machine.
“Wait a minute,” Lisa said. “If Robert sees phone records with a call to Tolosa—”
“He’ll probably never even notice. And even if he does, I doubt he’ll put two and two together.” Dave glanced over his shoulder. “If Robert were to come here, would he enter through the front door or the back?”
“The back.”
“Keep watch for me.”
Lisa went to the window and peered through the blinds to the apartment building next door.
“Everything’s quiet,” she told Dave.
“Good. This’ll only take a minute.”
Dave picked up the phone and dialed Alex’s house. His brother came on the line.
“Alex. It’s me.”
“Dave! Where are you?”
“No questions. Just shut up and listen. I’m deadly fucking serious here.”
Dave’s voice stopped his brother short. “I’m listening.”
“Give me your fax number. Home.”
Alex gave it to him, and Dave wrote it down.
“I’m sending you some documents. Very important, very confidential. I’m going to call you back the moment I send them to make sure you got them, then call you later and explain.”
“Okay. I’ll be waiting.”
Dave hung up the phone, dialed the number he’d written down, and pushed the send button. He held his breath as the speaker in the fax machine blared out the number dialing, then the ring.
“Damn, that’s loud,” he whispered. “Are we okay out there?”
“Nobody in sight.”
Now, if only this machine didn’t glitch and Alex’s machine picked up . . .
Dave watched and waited. Finally the machine caught the first page and pulled it through with a soft mechanical grinding noise, and then the others after that. Damn. Did it always take this long for a fax machine to suck up a document and send it?
Finally the machine beeped, signaling that the transmission was complete.
Dave picked up the phone, called Alex back and verified that he had the documents and that he could read them clearly, then hung up. Dave quickly grabbed the sheets he’d faxed and stuffed them into the file folder.
“Done,” he said. “Let’s get out of here.”
They hurried out of the room, closing the office door behind them. Dave followed Lisa out of the clinic. Watching the apartment building carefully, they hurried to the car and backed out of the alley. Ten minutes later, they were back at Sera’s house. Dave phoned Alex.
“Tell me what I’m looking at,” Alex said.
“Distribution records of the pharmaceutical drug ring based out of Santa Rios. Names associated with pharmacies all over Texas and New Mexico. Look near the bottom of the fourth page. The network goes through Dallas all the way to Tyler and Tolosa.”
“So who do you think the names are beside the pharmacies?”
“Maybe the pharmacists themselves, but I’m betting they’re sales reps acting as middlemen. You’ll be able to find out quickly enough. The pharmacies may not even know they’re getting counterfeit product. They’re buying the drugs in good faith and selling them as if they’re the real thing.”
“You could be right,” Alex said.
“Can you find out for sure who these people are? Lean on a few of them for me and find somebody who’ll talk? We know Robert Douglas is at the heart of the operation, but we need somebody who’s willing to testify to that, or lead us to somebody who can.”
“I’ll see what I can do. So where is Douglas right now?”
“In Santa Rios. But we’ve found out that he’s flying out tomorrow afternoon so he can be at Adam Decker’s memorial service in San Antonio on Thursday morning.”
“Give me the number where you are.”
Dave gave him Sera’s phone number.
“I’ll start first thing in the morning,” Alex said. “When are you coming back?”
“As soon as I know for sure that you’ve got somebody who’ll talk and no more evidence is necessary. We can be back in a matter of a few hours.”
“Okay. I’ll do what I can.”
“How is Ashley? Does she miss me?”
“Miss you? Hell, no. When is there time to miss you? John bought her a pony, and tomorrow they’re taking her to Disney World. He nixed the college education thing, though. He figures that’s your responsibility.”
“John’s a smart-ass.”
Alex’s voice became serious. “Of course she misses you. So be careful.”
“I hear you. You just get me that informant and everything’s going to be fine. Get back to me as soon as you can.”
“Consider it done.”
“Give Ashley a kiss for me.”
“Consider that done, too.”
Dave hung up the phone and turned to Lisa.
“So what now?” she asked.
“We wait.”
Adam lay in the backseat of the car, staring out the window into the night sky, wishing the clouds would pass. A bright moon would help. Stars. Some kind of light. They’d been traveling over two hours, the miles speeding away beneath them, but still they weren’t moving fast enough.
He looked over at Gabrio asleep in the front seat, then turned his gaze to Sera. He tried to picture her face in his mind, but other thoughts crept in, and the longer he lay in the darkness, the more completely the barren landscape invaded his consciousness.
Sleep. Just sleep. That’s all you have to do. Then when you wake up, you’ll be there. People. City lights. And then you’ll be fine.
But with every mile that passed away his nerves felt more taut, his mind jumbled and dark. A sense of déjà vu rose inside him that made his stomach turn over.
He heard Ellen’s voice, soft but desperate: Adam. Something’s wrong.
He’d heard those words a thousand times inside his head in the past three years, ten thousand times, and now he heard them louder than ever. They seemed to latch on to one corner of his mind, then ballo
on up inside him until they drove every other thought away. No matter what he did, he heard every tortured breath, every gasp of pain, every agonized sound of Ellen’s cries unleashed inside his head.
Adam, help me! Please help me!
And then the most horrifying thought of all swept through his mind. He saw not Ellen’s terrified face but Sera’s, crying in pain, begging with him, pleading with him. . . .
A strangled gasp tore from his throat. “Sera, stop the car.”
She whipped around. “What?”
He sat up, his head pounding. “I said stop!”
Sera wheeled the car to the shoulder of the road and put it in park, the engine still running. Leaping out of the car, she yanked open the back door. She climbed in and knelt down beside him, her face filled with panic. “Adam, what is it?”
He squeezed his eyes closed, trying desperately to get a grip on himself. He took several deep breaths, hating the fear and despair that had taken hold of him one more time.
“I can’t lie in the backseat of this car. Not on this road. Not in the dark.”
“What’s the matter?”
He couldn’t tell her. He couldn’t say it. God, the last thing he wanted to do on this barren stretch of road was tell her why his heart was pounding and his mouth was dry and his mind just wouldn’t forget.
Hold it together. You have to hold it together.
“It’s just . . . I just need to sit up front.”
“You need to lie down.”
“No! Damn it, I need to get out of here!”
Sera recoiled. Gabrio looked over the backseat, his face startled. You’re scaring him. You’re scaring that poor kid to death, and that’s the last thing on earth he needs right now.
Adam held up his palm. “I’m sorry,” he said, hoarseness clogging his voice. “I just . . . I’m fine. I just need to switch with you, Gabrio. Okay? Can you sit back here and let me sit up there?”
The kid swallowed hard. “Yeah. Sure.”
Sera helped Adam out of the car. As Gabrio slid into the backseat, Adam got into the passenger seat, wincing with pain as he sat down. Sera closed the door behind him, then circled the car to get back into the driver’s seat.
As she pulled the car back out onto the highway, Adam looked to the road ahead, at the headlights slashing through the darkness and dissipating into nothingness. He felt as if they were driving straight into hell.
“How much farther?” he asked.
“We’ll be there within the hour.”
He nodded, then turned on the radio. Music would help. Noise. Distraction. He leaned his head gently against the back of the seat.
“Adam?” she whispered. “Are you all right?”
Out of the corner of his eye he saw her turn to him with that sweet expression of love and concern that went straight to his heart.
“Don’t worry, Sera. I’ll be fine. Really. Just get me to Monterrey, and everything will be fine.”
But he wasn’t completely sure of that. He just didn’t know. Sometimes he thought he’d reached the point where he was sure it wasn’t going to bother him anymore, and then something like this would happen and he’d fall apart all over again.
It was never going to end.
Never.
chapter twenty-one
Lisa came out the back door of Sera’s house and sat down on the porch swing beside Dave. She handed him a beer, then popped the top on one herself. They swung gently, watching Sera’s ponies in the pasture to the east of the barn. The moon had risen to a small half circle of pale amber high in the sky, and warm night air swirled around them, the temperature a good ten degrees higher than normal for this time of year.
“I had my hopes up,” Lisa said. “Sera had all the ingredients for margaritas. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any tequila.”
“Beer’s fine.”
“Actually, I was kind of hoping for something stronger.”
Dave nodded. “Hell of a day, huh?”
“I’ve said that every day for the past four days. Is there any end to this?”
“Yes. Alex will call tomorrow and tell us he’s got an informant, which means that when Robert crosses the border again he’s toast.”
“Will Alex be able to pull it off?”
“If anybody can, he can. Once he gets his teeth into something, he doesn’t let go.”
“Especially if he’s helping his brother.”
Dave smiled a little. “Yeah.”
“You’ve got a good family, don’t you?”
He nodded. “The best.”
“You’re a lucky man.”
Dave turned to Lisa. “Just because you struck out on one family doesn’t mean you can’t start one of your own.”
“It’s the kind of life that works for you,” she said. “But not for me.”
“You need to think twice about that.”
“We’ve talked about this, Dave. I know where I’m going. And that’s not it.”
Dave nodded and took a sip of beer, staring out into the night. “Have you thought about where this is going?”
“Where what is going?”
“The situation between the two of us.”
“Situation?”
“If you hadn’t noticed, we’ve been relatively unable to keep our hands off each other for the past few days.”
She turned away. “Just think of it as one extended adrenaline rush. Once that goes away, the rest will go away, too.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Come on, Dave. You and I both know this is a short-term thing. Let’s not go looking for any deep meaning here, okay?”
“You mean let’s keep it hot and mindless and try really hard not to think about it?”
“I haven’t met a man yet who objected to that.”
“You’ve met one now.”
For some reason, Lisa suddenly felt hot. Uncomfortable. Still Dave’s eyes were on her, probing and insistent, and she countered by replacing the frown she wore with a seductive smile. “So you don’t want to have hot sex with me on the back porch?”
“No, I don’t.” He leaned in, kissed her gently on the lips and whispered, “I’d rather make love to you in the bedroom.”
The sensual way the words rolled right off his tongue sent warm shivers down Lisa’s spine. For maybe the first time in her life, she sat within kissing distance of a man and had no idea what to say.
Dave set his beer down, then stood up and held out his hand. “What?” she asked.
“Come with me.”
“But—”
“Don’t argue.”
She opened her mouth to say something. Nothing came out. Her heart had started to thump a little harder right about the time he kissed her, and it was really gearing up now.
She set her beer down, took his hand, and he led her into the house. But as they walked through the living room she had a sudden uneasy closed-in feeling, as if a touch of claustrophobia had swept over her. When they passed the sofa she stopped him suddenly, circled her arms around his neck, and kissed him deeply.
“Sofas are nice,” she whispered against his lips, stroking the back of his neck with her fingertips. “You can do all kinds of things on a sofa.”
“Yes. I suppose you can.”
He reached up, disengaged her hands from around his neck, and led her up the stairs. Halfway to the second floor, she turned him around and rose to the same step where he stood, inching closer and splaying her palms over his chest. “Ever had sex on a staircase?”
“Can’t say that I have.”
“It’s . . . interesting.”
“I’ll take your word for that.”
He took her hand and continued up the stairs, dragging her right along behind him. They reached the landing and started down the hall.
“Dave—”
“The hall has hardwood floors,” he said. “That would be painful.”
“There’s a rug—”
“Wool. I’m allergic.”
�
�The bathroom—”
“I’ve already showered today.”
He led her into Sera’s guest bedroom. The lamp was switched on low, bathing the room in a warm yellow glow. To her surprise, he walked over to where his bag rested on the floor, knelt down, unzipped it, and pulled something out. With a flick of his wrist he tossed a handful of condoms onto the bed.
Lisa stared at them, swallowing hard. “Optimistic, aren’t you?”
“I was a Boy Scout.”
He took her hand again and pulled her around to face him. He buried his fingers in her hair, pulled her to him, and kissed her deeply. Slowly. Sensually. Moving with the speed of grass growing.
Faster. Faster. Come on. Let’s go!
She reached for his shirt buttons. He put his hands against hers, stilled them, then returned them to her sides. She countered by grabbing his belt buckle. He took her hands again, held them at her sides, then inched so close that she had to take a step backward. She bumped into the wall, then looked up to find him staring at her intently. Just the sight of those dark, watchful eyes focused solely on her made her heart leap wildly.
“You know, Lisa, you’ve given me a hell of a ride over the past couple of days.”
She curled her lips into a seductive smile. “Why, thank you. Glad you enjoyed it.”
“Trouble is, you didn’t come along for the ride, did you?”
She frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“You know what I’m talking about.”
She swallowed hard and turned away. “Of course I did.”
He took her chin in his hand and turned her back. The moment she met his eyes, she looked away again.
“My God,” Dave said. “I’m right.”
She slipped away from him, putting some much-needed distance between them, then turned back with a defiant expression. “Well, so what?” She made a scoffing noise. “Men. Jeez. Their egos are so fragile. They come all unglued if they think they haven’t—”
“This has nothing to do with my fragile ego. It’s hard to give somebody something when she refuses to take it.”
“It’s not important.”
He inched close to her again, tucked his hand behind her neck, pulled her toward him, and kissed the spot just beneath her left ear. Warm shivers spread all the way to her toes.
“Tell me, Lisa. Have you ever felt the thing that you’re so absolutely sure is unimportant to you?”
