“I can’t imagine how Lydia or the ranch is caught up in any of that,” Ely said, telling Jonas about what had been going on. “Maybe they suspect Kyle—Ian—and that’s drawing heat in her direction?”
“No, if they did, they’d just kill him.”
Ely’s blood ran cold as he looked back to where Lydia lay sleeping.
“It gets worse.”
Ely’s attention sharpened. How could this get worse?
“They aren’t sure if he’s completely clean anymore. You know how it goes. He hasn’t been reporting back, and they don’t know if he’s still working on the right side.”
Ely closed his eyes, thinking of all the times he had left Lydia alone here on the ranch with Ian.
“I’ll find out.”
“Better if you two just pack up and get back here. Let the Feds work it out.”
Ely shook his head. “She can’t. She’ll lose her inheritance—her mother stipulated she had to stay here for a month.”
“Why?”
Ely pinched the bridge of his nose, not wanting to break Lydia’s confidence, but he’d already done that to some extent. “Her mom just felt she needed to come home and deal with some things from her past, and Mrs. Hamilton was probably right. But I don’t think she realized there was a drug cartel involved.”
“Damn. Okay, well, lay low, then, until you can leave. Only a few more weeks?”
“Should be able to leave a few days after Christmas, and I know Lydia is eager to get back.”
That reality dug at him a little.
“Okay, good. How about you? You okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. There’s a lot going on,” Ely said, filling Jon in about the festival.
“Well, that’s good—that there will be a lot of people around. Just stick close, and I’ll let you know if I hear anything more.”
Ely frowned. “No problem there.”
They hung up, and Ely stood, his entire frame tight, on alert, and he knew exactly what he was going to do. Jonas might not think it was a good idea for him to confront Kyle—or Ian, whoever he was—but Ely was going to find out exactly what was going on. He grabbed his jacket and headed out the back door.
Snow was falling again, and he stepped silently, checking the door of the bunkhouse. It was open. Stepping inside, Ely took in the lodgelike surroundings. Not so much a bunkhouse as a large log cabin. He took a few minutes to search the place, noting the half-gone bottle of Jim Beam and a couple of glasses on the coffee table in front of the television. Not a bad option to keep warm.
Poking around, he found nothing unusual. A stack of papers on the small kitchen table told him Smitty was paying his bills on time. Other than that, he found out what magazines the guys liked reading and what they drank and watched on TV. There was next to nothing about Kyle—Ian, he reminded himself—left around. The guy was careful.
Ely was silent as he made his way to the second floor. Recognizing a flannel shirt that Smitty favored hanging on one of the doorknobs, Ely checked the other rooms until he heard loud snoring. Opening the door carefully, Kyle was stretched out, dead to the world.
Ely approached the bed, shutting off his mind and his senses to everything but the man in front of him. He struck quickly, pinning Kyle down by the throat at the exact same second the man lunged upward. Ely had already retrieved his handgun from under the pillow, and pointed it at him, lifting a finger to his lips.
Kyle nodded slightly, wary and still, pulling back toward the pillow.
Ely moved to the door, shut it and kept the gun on the other man, taking a seat in a chair by the desk.
“So, Ian, let’s talk,” Ely said easily. Dangerously.
“I should have known you’d figure it out,” Ian said. “You seem like the type.”
Ely didn’t let him deflect the conversation back in his direction.
“There are some folks back in D.C. who think you might be a little too far in. That the case?”
To his credit, Ely thought the surprise on Ian’s face was real.
“No way. I had to stay low. I think someone’s watching, and they should know I can’t risk reporting in,” he spat, his eyes angry.
“So what is going on, and how is Lydia catching flack on this? Is it because you’re here?”
“I think they want something here. On the property, in one of the buildings, I don’t know. I’ve searched the fields, the barns, and I can’t find anything.”
“That leaves the house. Someone was in there last night. You?”
Ian nodded.
“You find anything?”
“Not a damned thing, but you came back too fast. I didn’t look through it all. Maybe there’s nothing there.”
“I found a vial outside the house the day after the first break-in,” Ely said. “That yours?”
“Crap, I wondered where that was. It must have fallen out of my pocket when I was hauling you around. I was sending it back for evidence. Found a cache of them at an abandoned ranch about five miles down.”
Ely just didn’t know whether he could believe the guy or not. Ian was a trained undercover operative; he was a professional deceiver. But Ely had no choice but to work with him for the moment. Keep your enemies closer.
“Maybe it’s not related,” Ely said. “Lydia had some trouble back when she was a kid—”
“Yeah, I know. Faye told us about it. Tough break.”
“Could be someone doesn’t want her around. Maybe this has nothing to do with the meth.”
Ian’s expression changed, revealing that he hadn’t even considered that. “I guess it’s possible though it seems unlikely. After all this time?”
“Yeah, I know. But people can hold grudges for a long time.”
Ian nodded. “If you can get her out of the house again, for a longer time, maybe overnight, I can do a proper search and we can know for sure. If there’s nothing in there, then I can’t think of any other reason they’d be sniffing around here.”
Ely agreed. “Okay. We’ll do it your way. We have to go into the city to get some supplies tomorrow. I’ll make arrangements to be gone overnight.”
Ian’s eyes glinted. “Yeah, I figured there was something like that going on. Had my eye on—”
Ely leveled a gaze, cutting him off. “Watch yourself. I still have the gun.”
Ian laughed and put his hands up.
“You may not be able to report back to your people, but I can report to mine—and I’m going to,” Ely warned. “So don’t think you can pull anything, Ian. You aren’t operating solo anymore, and if anything you do so much as harms a hair on her head, I’ll make sure you regret it.”
Ely took the clip out of the gun, shoved it in his pocket and shot the empty weapon back at the guy before he could respond and left. Sprinting back to the house, a plan formed to get Lydia away from the ranch for a night. He didn’t like lying to her, but it was probably best if he kept what he knew about “Kyle” to himself until they had a better idea of what was going on. She had enough on her mind, and the less she knew, the safer she would be.
Ely would make sure of that.
* * *
ELY DROVE THE Subaru into Billings, putting his worries behind him for the time being. Lydia had seemed to tune in to his tension that day as they had worked with other people from town, decorating trees and putting the final touches on the ranch for the festival. He’d been surprised by her perceptiveness, or that he was losing his touch, and letting himself be so easily read.
For now, they were just going to enjoy the chance to get away from the town for a while. He’d talked with Jonas, who wasn’t thrilled, but it had been Ely’s call. He was the one here in the middle of it.
The timing had been perfect. Lydia needed to get supplies for her tattoo booth, and he had been put in charge of running some other errands assigned by Geri. Ely had planned a night away that would be good for both of them, and he was looking forward to having Lydia to himself. The festival was only three days away, and Chris
tmas the next week. Then they would go home, and all of this would be over.
“I should check with the insulation company and make sure they’re still coming out as planned,” he said, making casual conversation.
“Okay, that shouldn’t be a problem. We’ll want to get back as soon as we can, though. I heard there was more snow coming in.”
“Never-ending supply of the stuff here,” he said with a smile.
“Yeah. I’m kind of getting used to it.”
He made his way down through the main drag of the city. Lydia had offered to drive, but he knew she was tired, and she had napped for part of the trip. Good. Because he hoped they would be up late that night. He planned to make the most of every minute they had left.
“So, what first?”
“Let’s find the tattoo shop that Megan mentioned and we can get the supplies, and we’ll go from there,” she directed.
So before long, they were at their first destination. The shop was well lit with true light, Lydia mentioned, so that colors were not distorted; that helped consumers know what the tattoo would really look like when it was done. The walls were covered with designs that people could choose from, and also pictures of people who had gotten their ink in the shop. A second room to the back offered various kinds of tattoo shop necessities, including the ink and supplies that Lydia would need for the festival.
Ely was fascinated to listen in while Lydia conversed with the owner, an older woman named Dot, who had as many tattoos, if not more, than Lydia. A transplant from New York who had followed her husband to Billings for his work, Dot and Lydia seemed to bond immediately. She and Lydia spent a few minutes admiring each other’s art and technique, discussing their shops and so forth. Lydia was in her element, it was easy to see; it was the first time she had relaxed in days, Ely noticed.
“Listen, since this is for a good cause, I’ll give you the twenty percent discount I give to other shop owners,” Dot said at the register. “After all, it is Christmas. And we won’t be here after the New Year, so it will be good for me to clear out some inventory.”
“Thanks,” Lydia said warmly. “But why are you closing down?”
“Frank can’t take the cold and the snow anymore. We’re moving south, and I may just work on a freelance basis. Time to enjoy some of the finer things in life,” Dot said with a smile. “I’ll miss this place, though. And business has really picked up in the last few years. Everyone and their sister wants tattoos now. I did a whole bridal party last week,” she said, laughing.
After they shared a bit more information, the women parted ways and Ely and Lydia headed out. Lydia stopped by the bin of toys by the door.
“Toys for Tots,” Ely said, walking up behind her. “We donate a lot every year from Berringer. It’s always fun doing the toy shopping, since we have no kids in the family right now, though I get the feeling Tessa and Jonas will be changing that. But it’s fun to do the shopping and the donations.”
“You think they will have kids right off? Tessa didn’t mention it, and she’s so busy with her shop,” Lydia said with a frown. Tessa would be a great mom—and Lydia an honorary aunt—but she couldn’t imagine how someone could balance both, and she also couldn’t imagine giving up her life’s work.
“Oh, I imagine they would figure it out,” Ely said easily.
Lydia had never really considered having her own kids; probably because she never really considered being in any long-term relationship other than her few friendships. Being an aunt could be fun, though, if Ely was right about Jonas and Tessa.
Heading out the door, Ely took Lydia’s bag, in spite of her protests that she could carry it on her own, and they walked back toward the car.
“Why don’t we go toy shopping?” Lydia said suddenly, stopping on the sidewalk as “All I Want For Christmas Is You” piped along the streets from some unseen speaker. “We can donate some to the toy drive here, and bring a bunch back to Clear River for the festival, for the kids. I know Faith said the stuff we donated from the house was good, but kids should have new toys,” she said.
Ely was surprised at her suggestion, but he liked it. Turning to face her on the walk, he said as much.
“You were inspired by the toy bin?” he asked.
“I guess. I normally do all of my shopping online and avoid stores at the holidays like the plague. But you’re here because of me, and probably missing that shopping trip with your brothers. And I would like to contribute new toys to the festival.”
“I think that’s a great idea, though you don’t have to worry about me being here. I’m happy to be here,” he assured her. In fact, he couldn’t think of anywhere else he would rather be. The place, and the woman, were growing on him very quickly. A little warning bell went off in his brain, but he ignored it, opening her car door for her.
“Let’s get these next two boring stops out of the way, and then we can hit the west end of the city where the main shopping is for toys.”
“How do you know that?”
“I picked up a bunch of local maps and tourist stuff when I was here at the airport. Always nice to know your surroundings,” he said, putting the bag in the backseat and opening the door for her.
They made their way through the city, bickering humorously as Ely refused to use the GPS Lydia had in her purse—at first—until they ended up in a puzzle of one-way streets that kept them going in circles for a while. Once he gave in, they made their way across town in some of the craziest traffic he’d ever been in, arriving safely at a boulevard with as many stores and plazas as he could imagine.
“This place always has good prices,” he said, pulling into the lot of one of the major discount stores.
It took a while to find a space—the place was crowded—but they finally did. Ely realized that Lydia was right; he had missed the toy-shopping trip with his brothers, and he was looking forward to this, especially with her.
Slinging his arm around her shoulders, they hurried across the lot as the wind picked up, slicingly cold as they reached the doors.
“Oh. My. God.” Lydia breathed, taking in the crowds and the lines.
“Well, it is almost a week before Christmas. Still up for it?” he asked, watching her closely.
She nodded, resolute, and said, “It’s a good thing I brought a bodyguard, though. If they stampede, I guess you have to throw yourself in front of them to save me, right?”
He laughed. “Yeah. I think we’ll just make use of some strategic avoidance techniques instead,” he added, taking her hand and leading her through the store, weaving a path of least resistance through the crowds.
“Over there.” Lydia pointed and to his surprise, Lydia gravitated directly to the dolls and he heard her whisper “yes” as she spotted something placed up high on the shelf.
“What did you find? You look like a woman with a mission.”
“Ink Baby,” she said with glee. “How can I resist?”
“Is that the one that caused such an uproar a few years ago?” Ely asked, and smiled at the surprised look she sent him.
“I was in the Middle East, but we had the internet,” he added.
“Ah, I guess I didn’t figure you followed consumer news,” she said. “But no, this is different. That one was a Japanese limited edition. It had the tats on the doll, complete with a spike collar, off-the-shoulder shirt and a spiky little dog on a chain,” she said. “It was cute. I actually have one, new in box.”
Ely was amazed. Another interesting secret about Lydia—she liked dolls. He never would have guessed that in a million years.
“And how is this one different?”
“This one includes tats as stickers that the kids can apply or not. The clothes are also more girlie, so you could just forget the tattoos altogether, but why would you? That’s the fun of it.”
“And no spikes or collars,” he added.
“Right. Though I don’t know what all the fuss was about. When we were kids, the bubble gum would sometimes come with the
temporary tattoos you could put on if you licked your skin and pressed them on. We loved them, and no one cared. What’s the harm?”
Ely looked her up and down in a blatant, lascivious way, and she laughed, putting several boxes in the cart.
“Let’s also buy some Hex Bugs or construction sets that we give to boys and girls,” she added.
“And Matchbox car sets. Have to have those,” he added.
They also bought several yo-yos and containers of Play-Doh and Silly Putty.
“I like classic, simple toys. They teach kids not everything has to be expensive or fancy, and can still be loads of fun. My parents bought us Slinkys for every Christmas, mostly because we would try to walk them or hang them off of everything during the year, and always needed a new one by the next,” he said with a laugh.
“It sounds like you had a great childhood.”
“I can’t complain. We had our up and down times. My Dad lost his job once, and that was hard. Jonas had trouble with the department, of course, and then Garrett lost his wife—some tough times, but I think we got through them because of all the good stuff that came before that.”
“Garrett met someone in San Francisco, Tessa said,” Lydia commented.
“Yeah. Tiffany, I think her name is. I don’t know much since I was out of touch, but I guess she’s a private detective, and he’s completely besotted, from what I can tell, and it’s about time. We all wondered if he would ever find someone after Lainey.”
“That’s so nice that he’s in love again,” she agreed. “Is he staying there?”
“Only for Christmas, so she can be with her family before they move back here.”
“Your brothers are falling in love like dominoes,” she said with a laugh.
“Jonas and Garrett were ready, I think. I can’t imagine Chance ever settling down. He’s got plenty of women, but just like everything else, he’s in it for the adventure. Once that wears off, he moves on.”
“I wondered. He’s not home much, is he?”
“Not if he can help it. He likes to take the jobs that require more travel, which is good, given that both Jonas and Garrett will be staying closer to home now.”
Hers for the Holidays Page 14
