Hidden Prey (Lawmen)

by Cheyenne McCray

  Dylan’s mouth tightened into a thin line. “Damn.”

  Landon lowered his hand from his nape. “I would have bought a burner phone to use to call you, but I was out cold when our help went to the store for us.”

  Dylan looked at Landon’s left arm. It wasn’t in a sling today but he was favoring it, the bandages peeking from beneath his T-shirt sleeve. “What happened to your arm?”

  “One of the sonsofbitches shot me in the shoulder.” Landon grimaced. “It’s slowing me down.”

  “Well, that’s fucked up. The last thing you need. ” Dylan quieted. “We confirmed by dental records that O’Donnell and Danson died in the explosion.”

  Landon pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. He’d been sure they had been killed, but the confirmation made his chest hurt and his blood boil even hotter.

  When Landon looked up, Dylan nodded toward the house. “How’s Tori?”

  Landon looked over his shoulder to see that Tori had gone back into the house. He thought about all she’d been through and then he’d dropped the bomb about killing her brother. “She’s pretty shaken up, but she’s tough. She’ll be all right.”

  Dylan nodded, but still looked concerned for Tori.

  Landon returned to the fact that Dylan had just shown up. “What are you doing here? How did you figure out we’d be at my place?”

  “The scene of the explosion was processed and we got the report back.” Dylan hooked his thumbs in his front pockets. “The part that clued us in was the two pairs of footsteps, one large and one small, headed away from the safe house into the tree line of the mountains.”

  “How did you guess the footprints were ours?” Landon asked as lightning flashed and thunder rumbled.

  “A good deal of your blood was found near those footprints.” Dylan rocked back on his heels. “As soon as we got that news, Sofia sent me to your ranch to see if you’d made it and decided to hide out here.”

  Landon hadn’t been himself after being knocked out, as well as weak from blood loss, so he hadn’t even thought about the fact that he might have left a bloodstain behind. It damn sure should have occurred to him. “You’ve found us, so now what?”

  “We get you back to the office.” Dylan rocked on his heels again. “We need to double down on all the precautions we have available to make sure Tori is safe.”

  If the RAC figured it out so easily, then others would as well.

  “When we found out you were likely alive, the U.S. Marshals were called,” Dylan said. “They’ll be at the DHS office to take Tori into WITSEC sometime after we get there.”

  “Damn.” The thought of Tori going into the Witness Security Program and disappearing from his life didn’t sit well with Landon. He couldn’t begin to imagine never seeing her again. But this was the best thing for her now.

  “Don’t mention the program to her yet.” Landon kept his voice low. “She got pretty upset the night when Claire Danson told her that’s what she might be looking at. We can wait until we’re at the office.”

  “Can’t say that I blame Tori.” Dylan raised his Stetson and scratched a spot on his head. “Giving up your life as you know it, and everything and everyone you know, would be pretty damned difficult.”

  Landon nodded as he started to turn. “Give us a few. I’ll follow you in my truck.” They could leave the rental car at the ranch for now. He felt safer in his truck with its powerful engine that was on par with law enforcement vehicles, and its sturdy build, as opposed to a mid-sized car from a rental agency.

  Dylan leaned back against his SUV and folded his arms across his chest. “I’ll wait out here for you.”

  Tori was standing in the living room when Landon walked into the house and closed the door behind him. She had her arms across her chest as if protecting herself from him. The fact that he’d killed her brother had clearly affected her, and he couldn’t blame her.

  “We’re going into the office.” He let her have her space as he spoke. “You’ll be safe there while we plan our next move.”

  Tori’s belly clenched and she kept her arms crossed over her chest as Dylan drove his SUV behind the truck she and Landon were in. Landon, the damned macho alpha male, had insisted on driving despite his shoulder that couldn’t have been close to being healed enough. His head probably still ached, too, after being hit from the explosion.

  But she was too upset, too torn, too confused to argue. Feeling sick to her bones, she stared out the window, raindrops rolling down the pane, the rainy landscape blurring as they passed it.

  Landon had killed her brother.

  Dear God. The man she had fallen in love with was the same man who’d put the bullet into her brother and taken his life.

  Falling in love with? She fought back tears. How could she already have fallen for Landon? And what did that mean now that she knew the truth? Damn it, he should have told her before they’d become intimate.

  Dylan had told them he would call ahead to have Tori escorted into the building. Once they reached the office, before they allowed her out of Landon’s truck, they put a Kevlar vest on her. She walked into the DHS office, surrounded by Landon, Dylan, and four other agents.

  Her clothes were soaked from the rain and her hair was damp around her face. The summer storm had grown worse as they’d driven to the DHS office.

  She didn’t like what was churning inside her at all…the feeling of being constantly in danger and the fear that someone she loved would be killed. Not to mention the two agents, O’Donnell and Danson, who had died protecting her after the house they’d been in had exploded. And then there was Gregory and his intern, both murdered because of what she’d seen.

  A shiver caused goose bumps on her skin and she rubbed her wet arms with both palms. Four people had already lost their lives, and Landon and Johnson had been injured.

  When they were inside the office, she was escorted to a room with no windows. Landon helped her take off the Kevlar vest and he set it aside on one of the chairs at the table. They were alone when she took a seat.

  He braced his hand on the table’s surface and studied her. “Do you want water or something else to drink?”

  She swallowed and realized her throat was dry. “Water.”

  He watched her as if she might get up and run screaming from the room. “How about something to eat?”

  “I’m still full from breakfast.” That was partially true. Mostly, she wasn’t sure if she could eat anything if she tried.

  “Will you be all right here alone for a while?” His voice was low and she heard the concern in it. “I can send someone in if you’d like.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “I don’t need anyone to stay with me.” She paused a moment and met his gaze. “Please arrange for a call on a secure connection between my mom and me.”

  Landon looked thoughtful. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “That’s not good enough.” She leaned forward and her tone was firm. Anger flared in her. She deserved to talk with her parents and there had to be a way to do it safely. “Make it happen, Landon.”

  She was tired of running and being afraid, tired of fearing for the lives of her loved ones, and tired of people dying. Tired of everything being out of her control. Somewhere, somehow, she had to regain some semblance of control over her own destiny, and over what was happening at this very moment.

  He rested his hand on hers, his touch heating her. She remained motionless, not wanting his comfort at this moment. He nodded before letting his hand slide away from hers, and then left the room, closing the door behind him.

  She stared at the door for a long moment, trying to think all of this through. There had to be something she could do now, something that would help end this nightmare. Maybe she was finally waking up.

  “Absolutely not, Sofia.” Landon clenched his jaw as he stood in his RAC’s office and stared at her. “We’re not going to use Tori as bait.”

  Sofia Aguilar leaned back in her office chair f
rom behind her desk and gave Landon a hard look. “This has to end and we need to rope in Alejandro Jimenez. Our best shot right now is using Ms. Cox to lure him in. The Marshals will help, and between them and us we’ll make sure she’s safe. It’ll be quick and she’ll never be in any real danger.”

  “No.” Heat burned beneath Landon’s collar. “We’re not doing that to her. Hell, what if we get Alejandro? His father will be right behind him.” Landon shook his head. “No.”

  “That’s not your call, Landon.” Aguilar narrowed her gaze. “We’ll let Ms. Cox decide for herself.”

  “Decide what?” Tori’s voice came from behind Landon.

  Frowning, he turned and faced her. “You were to stay in that room.”

  “You didn’t say I couldn’t leave.” She looked from Landon to Aguilar. “What is it that I need to decide for myself, Special Agent Aguilar?”

  Landon narrowed his gaze at Aguilar, but she looked past him, directing her attention to Tori.

  Aguilar spoke with quiet authority. “Ms. Cox, we would like your cooperation in setting a trap for the cartel, and specifically, Alejandro Jimenez.”

  A fleeting look of fear flashed in Tori’s eyes, but then it was gone. She gave a slow nod. “What do I need to do?”

  “Tori, it’s too dangerous.” Tension gripped Landon like an iron fist. “You don’t need to do this.”

  “I do need to.” She straightened and raised her chin. “We’re going to get them.” She fisted her hands at her sides. “Everything that happened—all the sacrifices, all the deaths—is not going to be for nothing.”

  Landon rubbed the bridge of his nose, his mind rejecting the thought of intentionally putting her in harm’s way. When he looked at Tori again, she was focused on Aguilar.

  “Just tell me what you want from me, and I’ll do it.” Tori moved closer to the RAC’s desk. “My only condition is that I get to speak to my mom. However you can do it, with some kind of secure connection, that’s what I want.”

  Aguilar’s nod was terse. “We’ll get you that phone call.”

  Landon’s gut tightened. He wanted to argue that they shouldn’t take a chance by using her as bait. By the look in Tori’s and Aguilar’s eyes, he knew that whatever he said wasn’t going to make a damned bit of difference. Tori had already made up her mind.

  “Thank you for arranging the call.” Tori’s chest rose and fell. “What’s the plan?”

  Landon dragged his hand down his face. It took everything he had not to jump in yet again and insist that Tori should not be used as bait. Too much risk was involved. If anything happened to her, he didn’t know what he’d do.

  Aguilar picked up a pencil and tapped it on the desk pad, which had doodles down the left side. “Now that we know we have your cooperation, we’ll take care of the rest.”

  Tori’s throat worked. “Now about that phone call?”

  The RAC looked at Landon. “Set it up.”

  Landon couldn’t hold back the terseness in his voice. “Yes, Ma’am.” He met Tori’s gaze and gave a nod in the direction of the door to Aguilar’s office. “We’ll take care of it now.”

  A relieved expression made Tori look more relaxed, which was the farthest thing from what he felt.

  “You shouldn’t put yourself in danger.” He nearly growled the words once they were out of Aguilar’s office. “Anything could happen.”

  Tori pursed her lips before speaking. “I can’t sit on my hands and do nothing anymore. All I’ve been doing is running and running and running. I have to do something that will help end this and all the death.”

  Landon grasped her arm and brought her to a complete stop in the hallway, facing him. “This is beyond dangerous, Tori.” He scowled. “You could get yourself killed trying to play hero.”

  She jerked her arm away from him, her face flushing as though her temperature had just gone up by twenty degrees. “I’m not trying to play hero. I’m trying to do what’s right, and I’m trying to keep more people from getting killed.”

  It wasn’t easy to cool the anger burning inside him. What Aguilar was planning had been done before with other witnesses and all had gone as planned. It wasn’t logical to be so concerned about Tori being used as bait. DHS agents would protect Tori, and bring down Alejandro Jimenez at the same time. But what then? Diego would be out for blood.

  He opened his mouth to say something to her but she shook her head. He looked at the floor a moment before meeting her gaze again. “All right. I’m not happy about it, but I will protect you. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  She looked away from him. When she met his gaze again, she said, “You took my brother’s life and I’ll never get him back.”

  Landon’s gut sank.

  “But…” Her words were soft and the look in her eyes told him she meant every word. “I trust you with my life.”

  Landon studied her beautiful features, the strong pull he always felt around her threatening to turn him inside out. “What is it about you?” He didn’t mean to say the words aloud.

  She cocked her head, looking puzzled. “What do you mean?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  That wasn’t entirely true. He did know. He was falling for Tori, and he was falling hard, which was a bad idea on all counts. She was a witness, fighting to remain alive, and might end up in WITSEC, where he couldn’t follow. If he did fall for her, it might take him off his game, making him the weak link.

  Instead of trying to explain himself, he turned the subject back to what they were supposed to be doing. “We’ll arrange that call to your mom.”

  He escorted her to his office. “Stay here. This is my office. I’ll be right back with a phone.”

  “Okay.” She took a seat that was on the left side of the desk. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  He met her gaze one more time. He felt as if he should say something comforting, like she’d be okay and they’d make sure nothing would happen to her.

  The agency would do everything in its power to keep her safe, but the truth was the Jimenez Cartel was powerful, its tentacles reaching across the U.S.-Mexico border. It was uncertain just how far those tentacles went.

  Considering the cartel had found Tori not once, but twice, Landon wasn’t so confident that they wouldn’t find a way to harm her, even with every bit of protection the agency had to offer.

  He should have said something, done something, but all he did was turn and walk away.

  Tori sat at one side of Landon’s desk, staring at the doorway long after he’d left. An irrational part of her was afraid he wouldn’t return, that she’d never see him again. It was as if everything in her life was disappearing piece by piece. Even if it was for a short time, Landon had become one of those pieces in her life.

  But the man she’d fallen head over heels for had killed her brother.

  Her brother.

  She tucked her damp hair behind her ear. Her thoughts turned to the fact that she’d just agreed to be bait so that the agency could get Alejandro Jimenez.

  A stronger emotion took hold of her, surpassing her fear.

  Anger. It burned hot and bright inside her chest, like a flaming torch.

  She turned her gaze from the doorway to the wall directly in front of her that was empty of photos or other pictures, and listened to the rain on the rooftop. She had meant what she’d said to Special Agent Aguilar. Tori was determined to help take down those men who had already destroyed so many lives from drugs, human trafficking, and murder. The people they’d killed—they’d all had families and friends who would never see them again. Would never hold them in their arms again. The men and women who’d died, including Gregory and her brother, were…gone.

  She swallowed. Just gone.

  A deep, soul-wrenching shudder came over her. It felt as if this nightmare would never end.

  “Tori?” Landon’s voice had her looking back to the doorway. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  She straighten
ed in her chair. “Yes.” Her gaze dropped to the phone he held in his hand and he set it on the tabletop. She met his eyes.

  “Your mom is on the line.” He pressed the speaker button. “Mrs. Cox, you and Tori need to remember, no matter how secure we believe this line to be, do not give out anything that might reveal your whereabouts, or anything else in relation to this case. Understand?”

  Tori nodded. “I do.”

  “Yes,” came Josie’s agreement over the speaker.

  Tori’s heart jumped into her throat as she settled her forearms on the table. “Mom?”

  “Mija.” The relief in her mother’s voice brought tears to Tori’s eyes. “You are all right?”

  “Yes.” Tori barely got the word out, a tear rolling down her cheek. “How are you and Dad?”

  Josie sighed. “Your father is slowly being weaned off the whisky, but once we’re home again, I don’t think it will last.”

  Tori sniffled, trying not to think of the possibility of any of them not being allowed to go home and heading straight into WITSEC. “But otherwise you’re okay?”

  She could picture her mother nodding. “Yes. Everyone is good to us.” Josie hesitated. “Are you someplace safe?”

  Tori met Landon’s gaze and he shook his head. Another tear made its way down her cheek. “Nothing for you to worry about.”

  “I miss you, Mija.” Josie had tears in her voice.

  Tori wiped her own tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. “I miss you, too, Mom.”

  Landon reached for the phone. “Time’s up.”

  “I love you.” Tori got it out in a rush. “I’ll talk with you soon.”

  “You have our love.” Josie’s voice cracked. “Don’t wait so long to call again.”

  “I won’t.” Tori managed to get the words out right before Landon disconnected the call with a push of his finger on the “end” button.

  Tori buried her face in her palms. Her emotions pinged all over the place, from one thing to another. People dying, Landon having killed her brother.

  But mostly what she came back with was the anger that was still burning inside her. The Jimenez Cartel had done this to all of them.