A Man Worth Remembering

by Delores Fossen

  “Are we actually on the same side? Because the lines are a little fuzzy here. Somebody is killing people and trying to kill others, namely Gabe and me, and all of that’s happened while you and I are on the same flipping side. Makes me wonder if I’d be better off ending this association right now.”

  “You can’t just end it,” Teresa snapped. “You need protection, and I’m assigned to give it to you.”

  Leigh groaned. “I’d rather have a BB gun and a Boy Scout. I’d stand a better chance of making it out of this alive.” She couldn’t be sure, but she thought she heard Gabe try to muffle a laugh.

  “You stand a better chance if you let me do my job.”

  “Once again, we don’t agree. The only person I’m going to trust is Gabe. Got that? So you can just peddle your services somewhere else, Agent Walters. If you really want something to occupy your time, why don’t you find out if Frank Templeton’s body is inside that house?”

  “I need to make a few calls,” Gabe announced before Teresa could say if she would act on Leigh’s suggestion. “And I need to get a closer look at the house.”

  Leigh was about to tell him that wasn’t a good idea, but the look he gave her had her rethinking that. He obviously had something in mind and wanted her to play along.

  “I won’t be long,” Gabe assured her. He pulled her aside and whispered the rest of what he had to say. “There’s a silver car parked at the end of the street. Go there in a couple of minutes.” He must have seen the look of uncertainty that went through her eyes because he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “It’s all right. I’ll cover you until you’re safe inside.”

  Leigh didn’t like the idea of being left alone with Teresa, but then she could have said the same thing about making her way to that car. She just hoped that Gabe knew what he was doing.

  When the men walked away, Teresa rifled through her purse and came up with a cigarette. She didn’t light it but instead ran her fingers over it as if trying to decide if she really wanted to smoke it. “Gabe told me your memory was coming back,” Teresa stated matter-of-factly. “Any truth to that?”

  Gabe had said that to shake things up a little. It meant she, too, should stick to that story.

  “I don’t remember everything,” Leigh answered. “But some key things have come back.” Key things, if she counted the phone call to Gabe and the image of him naked. Pretty sparse pickings as far as memories went, but Leigh kept that part to herself.

  “I suppose Gabe told you about all the problems you two were having before you disappeared?” Teresa asked.

  Leigh looked back at Gabe. He was standing to the side of the house, his phone pressed to his ear. Jinx was making a call of his own. “Yes. We were talking about a divorce.”

  Teresa made a slight sound in her throat. “And do you know why?”

  Leigh didn’t think she cared much for the direction of this conversation. “Yes, I know. He made a mistake and put his trust in the wrong person, namely, Joe Dayton.”

  “Gabe told you that?” Teresa gave a heavy sigh and pushed back a wisp of hair that had slipped from her French twist. “He wasn’t supposed to. He never sticks with the plan.”

  “I’m not absolutely sure, but I think I like that about him.” Leigh added a dry grin because she knew it would rile the other woman.

  Teresa snapped the cigarette in half and tossed it on the ground. “You’re falling for him all over again, aren’t you?”

  Leigh stared at the cigarette for several seconds before she eased her gaze to Teresa. “Now, just why would that concern you?”

  “Because I’d like to think we’re friends.”

  Friends? Leigh didn’t need her memory to know that wasn’t true. “And why would you think that?”

  “Well, I’ve known you for a long time now. We’ve even worked on some cases together.”

  “And this is leading…” Leigh gestured with her hand. “Where exactly?”

  “Well, since you can’t remember everything, I think it’s only fair to warn you that Gabe hasn’t always acted in your best interest. There were times when your marriage was rocky at best.”

  “Yes, I know. I’m still waiting for you to tell me where this is leading.”

  “It’s not leading anywhere. I’m just trying…” But Teresa stopped and shook her head as if she shouldn’t say anything else.

  “Obviously. I think the term you’re looking for, Teresa, is ‘causing trouble.’ You can save it. I already have more trouble than I can handle.” Leigh turned and walked away.

  She had no idea that Gabe had stepped up behind her until she heard his voice. “Anything wrong?” he asked.

  “We have to talk,” Leigh said softly. “But it can wait.”

  She saw an expression on Gabe’s face that she had yet to encounter. Not quite anger but something close. Fury, perhaps. It actually frightened her, and she hoped this particular emotion wasn’t aimed at her.

  Gabe drew her away from Teresa. “There’s been a slight change of plans. I just talked to Jinx, and we’re getting the hell out of here, understand?”

  She hesitated before giving a slow nod. “All right. Any idea how we’re going to do that? I don’t think Teresa will just let us leave without causing a fuss.”

  “Jinx will tell her to back off. Maybe this time she’ll actually listen to him.” He tipped his head to the silver-colored car parked at the end of the street. “That’s where we’re headed. Stay behind me.”

  Leigh nodded, but before she could take even a step, Gabe caught onto her arm. “Do you still trust me?” he asked.

  She almost gave him a flippant comeback, but that tormented look in his eyes stopped her. Whatever was going on inside his head, it wasn’t pleasant, and she thought its cause was more than what had just happened with the blast and the dead man.

  “I trust you, Gabe.” And she came up on her tiptoes and brushed a kiss on his cheek. To reassure him maybe, and maybe because she knew Teresa would see it. The kiss didn’t stay on his cheek, however. Nor did it stay gentle and reassuring. With his breath coming out in rapid hot bursts, he gripped the back of her neck and captured her mouth in a searing kiss.

  “Is there something else I should know about?” Leigh asked when he finally broke away from her. She couldn’t imagine the situation being worse, but it was obvious that something had upset Gabe.

  “We’ll talk later.”

  That didn’t do a thing to reassure her. God, what else had gone wrong?

  “Wait a minute,” Teresa barked when she saw them start to walk away. She covered the mouthpiece of her phone with her hand. “Just where do you think you’re going?”

  “It’s all right, Teresa,” Jinx called out. He came back across the yard toward her. Leigh didn’t have to know specifically what Jinx was saying, but it was obvious that the woman was about to receive a dressing-down.

  Gabe didn’t waste any time. He led Leigh straight to the car, unlocking the vehicle with the remote on a key chain that he pulled from his pocket.

  “Get in the back seat,” he instructed. “And stay down. We’ll leave just as soon as Jinx gets here.”

  She crouched on the floor but peered at Gabe over the seat. “Jinx?”

  “He’s coming with us.”

  Leigh didn’t know how to react to that. She certainly didn’t want the man tagging along, but maybe Gabe needed him for something. Still, she didn’t plan to let down her guard anytime soon.

  “What the hell?” Gabe mumbled. With his gaze fixed on the passenger’s window, he turned his weapon in that direction. “There’s Frank Templeton.”

  Leigh popped up from her hiding space and saw him coming directly toward them. “He made it out of the house. I can’t believe it.”

  The tall, red-haired man was hunched over and literally skulking his way around the other cars. To say he looked beleaguered was putting it mildly. His clothes were torn and dirty, and his hair tangled wildly around his face.

  Gabe pushed the button to
lower the window a fraction but didn’t open the door. Leigh also noticed that he kept his hand on his gun. Not surprising. She wasn’t in the frame of mind to trust anyone either. For all she knew, Frank could be the one behind this. He’d certainly had as much opportunity and motive as anyone else.

  “Leigh,” Frank said on a rise of breath. “Gabe found you. Thank God.”

  “Yes. Are you all right?”

  “Not really. I was waiting in the house for Gabe, but someone tried to kill me.”

  “Yeah, I know. They tried to do the same thing to Gabe and me.” She glanced around to make sure no one else was coming their way. “Listen, Frank, I don’t have a lot of time to explain this, but I have amnesia, and I don’t know what’s going on.”

  He gave her a puzzled look, but that look soon turned to something more—alarm. “Neither do I, Leigh. That’s why I wanted to talk to Gabe and you.”

  She shook her head, not understanding what he meant. “But why did you disappear if you didn’t know what was going on?”

  “For the same reason you did. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Dayton wanted us both dead.”

  “Dayton killed himself two years ago,” Gabe reminded him.

  “Yes, but he wasn’t working alone. I knew Joe couldn’t put together an operation like that on his own. Great day, we’re talking three tons of weapons. Maybe more. It would have taken him years to siphon off that much without someone noticing.”

  Leigh had no idea the volume of weapons was that high. No wonder Gabe had figured the bulk of them hadn’t been moved. Plus, they were hot goods. Probably every law enforcement agency would be looking for a cache like that. But in two years, only a few had surfaced.

  Why?

  An accomplice would have known the location of that storage facility. Well, maybe. Maybe Dayton hadn’t trusted his partner with that kind of information. So, that meant Frank and she were possibly the only two people who even had a clue as to the cache’s location.

  And that made Frank a suspect.

  Realizing that she very well could be looking at Dayton’s accomplice after-the-fact, she wondered if she should just have Gabe arrest him on the spot. However, Frank was looking at her as if to decide the same thing.

  “It’s not me,” Frank said firmly. “I had nothing to do with Dayton’s plan. I didn’t even see what was on that disk before it destroyed itself. Can you look me in the eye, Leigh, and say the same thing?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “But how do you know?” he challenged. “You have amnesia.”

  “I don’t need my memory to know that I’m not a criminal. If I’d seen something on that disk, I wouldn’t have kept it a secret.”

  Frank kept his narrowed gaze on her as if trying to decide if he believed her. After a moment, he nodded. “Then someone else is out there. Someone who knows everything.”

  “Yes, and that person thinks we know the location of the weapons. He or she is willing to kill us to keep a secret. That’s why it’s important that you stay with us.”

  “I can’t.” His gaze cut to Gabe. “You need to get her out of here now.”

  “That was my plan. Jinx should be here any second. How about you? Where are you headed?”

  “Someplace safe.”

  “Need a ride?” Gabe opened the door then, but it was more than just a friendly gesture. Gabe’s body language and his raised gun made it seem more like an order. “We still have a few things to discuss.”

  Frank glanced at the drawn weapon and the still-blazing house. “I’ll call you to set up another meeting. Someplace private. It’s too dangerous for us to talk here.” He started to move away.

  “Wait,” Gabe said in a stern whisper. “How can I reach you?”

  “Don’t know yet. I’m still looking for the accomplice, and I’m getting very close. Also, don’t trust Teresa. There’s something not right there.” He raised his hand in a hasty farewell and disappeared into some shrubs.

  “Shouldn’t you go after him?” Leigh asked frantically.

  “No. I won’t leave you alone.”

  “But Frank might be able to tell us something.”

  “You heard what he said, Leigh. He doesn’t know who did this. We’ll just have to wait for his call. Besides, we’re leaving.”

  Leigh craned her neck so she could look in the rearview mirror. It was Jinx. And from the look on his face, he was not a happy man.

  Gabe climbed into the back seat with her, and Jinx got behind the wheel. “Let’s get the hell out of here,” Jinx insisted. “Now!”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Gabe glanced behind him. Since Teresa wasn’t in hot pursuit, he guessed she was still tied up with the call from the Bureau that Jinx had arranged. That call would buy them some time. Hopefully. But they needed to get away from Grand Valley and the safe house if they didn’t want to get caught up in a full-scale investigation.

  “Are you all right?” Gabe asked Jinx.

  “I’m fine. Who was the man I just saw running from the car?”

  Gabe met Jinx’s gaze in the rearview mirror and gave him a you’re-not-going-to-believe-this look. “Frank Templeton.”

  “Frank?” Jinx repeated. “I thought for certain that his body was somewhere in that burning house. I take it he’s alive and well?”

  “Alive, for sure,” Gabe informed him. “I don’t know about the well part. He looked like hell. He said he still doesn’t know who’s doing this, that we shouldn’t trust Teresa, and he’ll call me to set up another meeting.”

  Gabe hadn’t needed Frank’s advice about trusting Teresa though. He had no plans to trust either Frank or her.

  He checked the street behind them again. No sign of Teresa or anyone else. There was traffic, assorted emergency and law enforcement vehicles, but they were all headed toward the house.

  Once they were away from the crime scene, he needed to have that talk with Leigh. She knew something was wrong. He could tell that from the side glances she kept tossing his way. Hell. Teresa had probably told her everything.

  Jinx had just made it to the edge of town when his phone rang. Gabe was willing to bet it was Teresa, but he soon learned he would have lost that bet.

  “Lieutenant Venegos,” Jinx said to the caller. “Please tell me you have good news.”

  Gabe knew the name. Venegos was a Texas Ranger who often worked with the Bureau on high- and low-profile cases.

  “Are you really all right?” Leigh whispered to him.

  “I’m fine.” She probably thought his somber mood had to do with their brush with death, but that was only part of it. “We have to talk,” he let her know.

  She nodded. Just nodded. That didn’t do a lot to put him at ease. Damn Teresa and her big mouth.

  “Our friend in the Texas Rangers found Philip about an hour ago,” Jinx relayed when he hung up the phone. “He’s safe. For now, anyway. He’s using an assumed name—Tyler Wilkins.”

  Leigh moved to the edge of the seat. “My brother’s in Houston?”

  “No. He’s living near San Antonio. Lieutenant Venegos tracked him down at the nightclub where Philip bartends. He didn’t let Philip know anyone was looking for him.”

  “Did Venegos give you an address?” Gabe wanted to know.

  “Yeah. Philip rented a place in the country, and the lieutenant thought it might be better for you to go there instead of the nightclub. He tried to call Philip’s house, but he only got the machine. Some woman named Jenny recorded the message. Hopefully, I’ll have more info on her before we get to San Antonio.”

  Gabe was sure Jinx would. By now, Venegos was probably tapping into every information source he had to help them. “Have you already assigned someone to tail Philip?”

  Jinx nodded, but the eye contact he made with Gabe told him plenty. If the Texas Rangers could find Philip, the man needed protection. And fast. They had to get to Leigh’s brother before someone else did.

  Leigh settled back against the seat. “So now what—w
e just drive out to his house and surprise him?”

  “You two will,” Jinx answered. “You can drop me off at the field office in San Antonio so I can cover our tracks. I want to stop this information trail before someone else picks up on it.”

  She nodded, obviously understanding the need for that. “How long before we get there?”

  “Four hours.”

  Of course, that wouldn’t be a direct route, but Gabe knew it was necessary for them to cover their own tracks as well as Philip’s. Fortunately, Jinx was very good at doing that.

  Four hours. Soon they’d be able to see Leigh’s brother and could hopefully stop anything bad from happening to him. Philip might also know where she’d been for the past two years, or better yet, he might know who was trying to kill her.

  Gabe didn’t dare hope for things to be wrapped up in a neat little package. If fact, he only hoped that Leigh could somehow forgive him for what had happened two years earlier.

  He made another check of the highway before he angled his body toward her. “What did Teresa tell you back there at the house?”

  Even in the dark car, he saw Leigh flinch. Maybe that was because of the abruptness of his voice. Or maybe it was because this was the last thing on earth she wanted to discuss with him.

  After a couple of moments, she shrugged. “She was being catty, that’s all. Did you two have a thing going, because she sounded a little jealous?”

  “Tell me what she said,” Gabe repeated, enunciating each word.

  She cleared her throat and rubbed her index finger over her eyebrow. “Well, she claimed to be my friend and basically told me that you hadn’t always acted in my best interest.”

  “And? Tell me everything, Leigh.”

  The fidgeting stopped, and she met his gaze head-on. “What is this all about?”

  “Tell me what she said to you.”

  It seemed Leigh was about to clam up, but she huffed and continued. “She was just trying to get to me, that’s all. Listen, if you had an affair with her—”

  “I didn’t have an affair with her, and I want to know the rest of what she said.”