Gayle had been ambitious, always striving for more because that was what made her feel important. Melissa might be ambitious, too. But he had a feeling that was only a tiny sliver of the force that drove her. She talked about justice, about being there for her dead mentor with bone-deep passion.
The way he felt about the ranch. The way he felt about his son.
But none of that changed the facts. None of it meant she would chuck her city life, her career, her friends and move to Middle-of-Nowhere, Wyoming. None of it meant she could ever be happy with him.
He turned away from her and paced across the room, his boots sounding on the hardwood floor.
He could hear Melissa draw a shaky breath behind him. “What happened? At the ranch? How did you get away?”
He turned back to face her. He’d much rather describe what had happened than dwell on impossible scenarios, impossible feelings. “The sheriff’s department. As soon as the two heard sirens, they took off.”
“So they weren’t caught.” She pursed her lips.
He could guess her thoughts. Two of the men who killed Detective Bernard were still out there. Justice was yet to be served. Her goals hadn’t changed.
His had hit a brick wall. “How did they know where to find us?”
“Your truck.”
Of course, the decal on the side. Circle J Ranch. All it would have taken was a phone call from the two who’d followed them to Wyoming before they’d reached the mountains.
And that meant one thing. “I can’t bring Jason back to the ranch. He’s not safe there, and he won’t be until these guys are stopped.”
“So what are you going to do?”
He let a grin curl one side of his mouth. “I appreciate your restraint.”
“Restraint?”
“I know you’re chomping at the bit to bring up the DA’s protective custody.”
“Well?”
“You said the shooters in the car knew where Detective Bernard would be, that they waited for him.”
She nodded.
“What’s to say they won’t know where we are in Denver? That whoever told them where to find the detective won’t tell them where to find us?”
“We can keep the information restricted. Only Seth and I need to know.”
“How about only you?”
“You have a problem with Seth?”
“No.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“Okay, I’d like to use his power tie to strangle that smug smile off his face.”
A chuckle sounded low in her throat. “The threat to throw you in jail rubbed you the wrong way?”
“Why would you think that?”
Melissa gave him a smile. “Okay. I’ll keep your whereabouts to myself. I’m just relieved you’ve had a change of heart.”
“I tried it my way. I guess it’s time to try yours.”
“That easy, huh?”
“You think admitting that was easy?”
“I forgot. Stubborn cowboy.”
“Damn straight. But even I realize that Jason won’t be safe until you catch those two.”
“I hate to break it to you, but they aren’t the only ones involved.”
“Fine. Them and whoever else is behind this mess. If I help, maybe we can solve this a little faster. Let’s face it, you need me.”
“Need you?”
“As a witness.”
“Of course.”
She watched him, and for a long second, he thought she might let him take her back in his arms. And for that second, he let himself imagine.
“At this point, we should stay the night,” she said.
“We should.”
“Then we’ll ride back to the ranch tomorrow? Head out from there?”
He nodded. “I have to make arrangements. My foreman can supervise repairs to the ranch house and grounds.”
Her gaze flicked first to one bedroom door, then the other.
Silence hummed through the room. She stood only ten feet from him. One step, maybe two, and she’d be close enough to touch.
“One has a king bed,” he said, “the other two fulls.”
She curled her lower lip inward and trapped it between her teeth. “I’ll take the king. That way Jason can sleep with me. I wouldn’t want him to wake up alone.”
He dropped his gaze to the floor. “Of course. Good thinking.”
______
Denver hadn’t changed much in the two days Melissa had been gone, but it felt different all the same. Safer. More secure. Like a favorite blanket she could wrap around her shoulders and shield herself from the unknown.
She glanced at Nick dozing in the passenger’s seat next to her, his Stetson tipped low over his eyes. In the back, Jason watched a video where animated creatures danced and sang. The catchy tunes rolled over and over. She’d found on the long drive down that if she concentrated on them hard enough, she could chase thoughts of last night’s kiss from her mind. At least for a second or two.
At the moment, she was having less luck on that front.
It would take more than ear worms to permanently wipe away the memory of Nick’s lips on hers. The way something inside her had opened up when he touched her. The weak feeling that had flooded her limbs and centered in her core.
She couldn’t let it happen again.
Melissa had been thrown off balance in Wyoming. The mountains, the horses, the whole cowboy fantasy. And that night, the way Nick had given Jason and her a chance to escape, the fear of being alone in the wilderness, the relief when he’d stepped through that door… all of it had reduced her to a quivering mass of need.
She focused on the concrete strength of buildings, the vibrancy of the interstate, the mountains only distant shadows. Now she was back in her world and things would be different. Here she was strong. Independent. Here she didn’t need a swaggering cowboy to teach her how to ride or rescue her from gunmen.
Here she didn’t need to rely on anyone but herself.
“So where are we headed?” Nick tilted his hat back and looked at her through one eye.
Melissa carefully focused on the interstate and the thick traffic flowing on either side of the pickup. “Seth will expect me to report first thing.”
“What are you going to tell him?”
“That you’re back. That you’re willing to help.”
“And he’s going to insist on taking us into protective custody.”
“He can’t do that if he doesn’t know where you are.”
“Hmm.”
“You’re skeptical.”
“He’s your boss.”
“I’ll keep my word.”
“Even if he fires you?”
“He won’t fire me.”
“You’re sure? Where I come from, you go against what your boss wants, and you ain’t gonna last long.”
“Where you come from, you’re the boss.”
“Damn straight.”
“I’m not going to tell Seth. I promise. And I’ve been watching the road behind us. No one is following.”
“What if they’re waiting for us in Denver?”
“Denver is a big place.”
One corner of his mouth quirked up in a hint of a dry smile. “You sound like you have a place in mind.”
“It’s just an idea. I have to ask permission.”
“I thought you said only you would know where we were.”
“This isn’t about work.”
“Then what is it about?”
“Jimmy had a cabin, a place that was just his that he didn’t let many other people know about. It’s not as fancy as yours. It’s kind of a dump, really. But it’s somewhat close to the city, yet it’s isolated, too. I thought we’d stop and ask Tammy if we could stay there.”
“Tammy?”
“Jimmy’s wife.” The back of her throat ached at the thought of what her friend must be going through since her husband had been shot down in the street. Melissa felt horrible that she couldn’t be there t
o help her deal with it all. Worse, with all that had been happening, she hadn’t thought to give Tammy so much as a phone call.
“You know her well?”
“She’s closer than my own mother ever was.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t be. Problem is, I’m not sure what Tammy knows or doesn’t know about Cory Calhoun’s investigation.”
“Might be better coming from someone she knows.”
“She might take it better, but not until I have some facts that prove Jimmy’s innocent.”
“Seems to me if Tammy knew about the investigation, she might be able to help.”
“You might be right, but… I can’t explain it. I just don’t want to make things harder on her than they already are. Not if I don’t have to.”
“Okay. My lips are sealed.” He put his fingers to his lips as if to illustrate.
For a second, Melissa could again feel the pressure of his kiss, the weakness inside. She yanked her focus back to the road. Her cheeks felt hot, and she lowered the fan on the truck’s heater.
How she was going to handle staying in Jimmy’s cabin with Nick, she had no clue. At least Jason would be there, too. And Nick himself seemed wary today. After his experience with his ex-wife, she doubted he was looking for any kind of entanglement.
At least she could hope.
She exited the interstate and piloted the truck through familiar streets. She circled the block three times. Satisfied no one was staking out Tammy’s place, she turned onto a quiet street and pulled the truck to the curb down the block from the modest adobe house she’d always thought of as a second home. “This is it.”
She and Nick climbed out of the truck, and Nick collected Jason from the backseat. As the three of them walked up the sidewalk to the front door, Melissa couldn’t help but notice how much like a little family they probably appeared to neighbors peeking through their blinds.
Weird.
Melissa liked kids, but she’d never planned on a family. Never wanted one. She’d seen too much of what her mother went through to ever put herself in such a vulnerable position.
Tossing her hair out of her eyes, she stabbed the doorbell with a finger.
The door swung inward and Tammy appeared in the doorway. A thin woman, Tammy had always reminded Melissa of a doll she had as a kid made of wire with a rubber coating, strong and flexible. But now her bones appeared as fragile as that wire had gotten over time, and her skin draped loosely over that brittle frame. New lines etched her younger-than-her-years complexion. And blue eyes that used to sparkle at Jimmy B’s jokes looked puffy and rimmed in pink.
Those eyes flared wide. Tammy lurched out onto the step and wrapped her arms around Melissa. She clung as if her life depended on it. “I called your office. They said you were on vacation.”
Melissa jerked back to stare at her. “Vacation?”
Tammy gathered her tight once more, as if worried she would slip away. “It didn’t make sense to me. I mean, Jimmy dies and you go on vacation? I didn’t know what to think.”
“I wasn’t on vacation, Tammy. I’m sorry I couldn’t get here sooner.”
Tammy held on for a few more seconds, then released her and pulled back a few inches to study Melissa’s face. “What happened to you? Something bad.”
Great. She must look as tired as she felt. “I’m fine.”
Tammy looked past Melissa’s shoulder at Nick and Jason. “And you brought someone?”
“Jason was the boy Jimmy was collecting from the hotel. Nick was there, too. He’s Jason’s father.”
“I was there to take him home.”
Tammy focused on Nick. “And you saw…”
Nick nodded.
“They didn’t tell me there was a witness.” Her lips pursed. “They hardly told me anything.”
Melissa let out a breath. So Tammy didn’t know. If anything good could be said about the silence surrounding this case, it was that she might be able to diffuse the suspicions about Jimmy before Tammy ever did.
“There’s more,” Melissa said. “I have a favor to ask. Can we come in?”
“Of course.”
Tammy led them into the well-worn living room. The smell of Jimmy’s stale cigars hung in the air like a fading memory. They sat on the wood-frame couch where Melissa had watched John Elway win two Super Bowls, Jimmy shouting his usual colorful profanities at the refs for every flag against the Broncos. In the corner, Jimmy’s leather recliner sat empty.
“Can I get you something? A beer? Coffee? Juice? Something to eat? I made cookies.”
Jason’s eyes brightened, and he gave a little hop. “Cookies? Can I have cookies?”
“Sure, Buddy,” Nick said. He exchanged looks with Melissa, then looked back to Tammy. “Come to think of it, I’m a little hungry, too. I think some homemade cookies would really hit the spot.”
“Chocolate chip.” Tammy smiled at Melissa. “They always were your favorite.”
“Not for me, thanks.” Melissa did love Tammy’s chocolate chip cookies, but at the moment she felt anything but hungry. Besides, with Nick and Jason busy chomping on cookies, it would give her a chance to talk with Tammy one-on-one, probably what Nick was trying to communicate with that glance. “Go ahead, you guys.”
Melissa watched while Tammy set Jason and Nick up at the kitchen table with cookies, two big glasses of milk and Jason’s toy cars. She’d forgotten Tammy’s compulsion of serving during stressful times. It never failed, if anyone within a hundred-mile radius was going through a bad time, Tammy was feeding them. It felt so warm and familiar, it made Melissa want to cry. “Has anyone from the force or the D.A.’s office been here?”
“Of course.” She motioned to the kitchen. “My countertops are heaped with bars and brownies and my fridge is stuffed with casseroles.”
And yet she made cookies? Classic Tammy. “I mean in an official capacity. Asking questions, that kind of thing?”
The lines on either side of Tammy’s mouth deepened. “Yes.”
“Who?”
“He said his name was Calhoun. From the D.A.”
“I know him,” Melissa said.
Tammy nodded. “I know they have to run an investigation every time an officer fires his weapon, but from what this Calhoun told me, Jimmy didn’t even get that chance.”
“What did he ask you about?”
“That didn’t make a lot of sense, either.”
“How so?”
“He wanted to know Jimmy’s mental state and how healthy our finances are. He even asked about our marriage. I asked him what he was getting at, but he wouldn’t tell me. It was weird.”
Not so weird from where Melissa was standing. It sounded like Calhoun was digging for something he could use to justify the theory that Jimmy had suddenly fallen to corruption. “Did anyone from the force ask you questions?”
“Should they have?”
“No, no. Just wondering.”
“Is there something going on between the D.A.’s office and the Denver P.D.?”
Melissa held up her hands, palms out. “I’ve been gone, so I don’t know much more than you do. In fact, I probably know less. That’s why I’m asking. Did you talk to anyone from the force?”
“Ben Marris was here.”
“Marris? What did he say?”
“He wanted to know who I thought should be pallbearers.” Her eyes glistened. She blinked furiously, but tears escaped and trickled down her cheeks.
Melissa rubbed her friend’s shoulder, and Tammy swayed beneath her touch. “I’m so sorry you have to go through this.”
“I know you are, Melissa.”
“I want you to know I’m here. Whenever you need me. Okay?”
“Helping them catch the boys that did it and making sure they go to prison will be enough for me, Melissa. Jimmy always said you were the best at your job he’d seen for a long time. And after the situation you grew up in…” She blew her nose, then focused on Melissa, lashes spiked with
tears. “He was sad when you went to the D.A.’s office, but he was so proud, too. Said they needed someone like you.”
The room grew misty. Melissa willed her eyes to stay dry. She hoped she was as good at her job as Jimmy thought. Jimmy deserved that and more. “Did Jimmy get any threats here at home? Any strange calls? Visitors?”
“I thought he was killed protecting…” She nodded toward Jason, eating his cookies in the kitchen. “Do you think they were out to kill Jimmy all along?”
“We don’t know for sure, but it looks like Jimmy might have been the target.”
Tammy reached back and gripped the leather lounge chair, as if she needed it for support.
“Anything you can think of could be helpful.”
“There were threats here and there. But there are always threats here and there. He was a detective. He arrested bad people. Sometimes they made empty threats. It wasn’t anything that seemed unusual.”
“Do you know where the recent threats were coming from?”
“He kept most of it at work.”
“What did you notice here at home?”
“Nothing, really.” She perched on the lounge chair’s arm, folded her hands and stuffed them between her knees. “Cory Calhoun asked that same question, though.”
“About the threats?”
“Yes. I forgot about that. And something else.”
“What?”
“He asked me if I had ever heard Jimmy talk about a woman named Gayle Rodgers.”
“What did you tell him?”
“The night before…” Tammy looked up to the ceiling and paused for a moment. When she resumed, her voice sounded rough and raw. “He was arguing with someone on the phone about her. That’s all I remember. But it wasn’t someone threatening him or anything. It was someone at work.”
“Another cop?”
“I don’t know. I could just tell it was someone in law enforcement by the words he used. Shop talk, you know. At least that’s how it seemed to me.”
“What was he arguing about?”
“He said he had a lead. He said he was planning to take it all the way if he had to.” Shaking her head, she reached into her pocket, pulled out a tissue and dabbed her eyes. “I wouldn’t even remember it except that he just had that tone in his voice, you know? Whenever I heard it, I knew he was going to get his way.”
Justice (A Rocky Mountain Thriller Book 3) Page 8
