GRAY WOLF SECURITY, Texas: The Complete 6-Books Series

by Glenna Sinclair

  “Yes, well, I’m sure she knows the danger of turning on you.”

  “I thought so. But then she met you.”

  Alvarez walked around the room, touching Brooks’ things, that notebook at his side like a forgotten child. “I thought she was this sweet, naïve girl, that I was doing her a favor by helping her with her brother. I thought she’d go out, buy herself a lot of pretty things and drink too much at all these stupid parties I’m required to go to. I thought she was a bubble-headed child like the women on these reality television shows. Turns out she wasn’t. She’s too fucking smart for her own good.”

  “What do you want, Alvarez?”

  “I want her back. I want to make sure she’ll never tell anyone what’s in this book.”

  I edged into the room, reaching behind me to slip the gun from my waistband. But Alvarez had eyes on the back of his head. He dropped the book and wheeled around, his own gun in his hand.

  “Don’t think you can get the drop on me. Many men with more experience at this sort of thing than you have underestimated me.”

  I pulled my hands out from behind my back, showing him my hands were free.

  “I can’t bring her back. I can’t let you hurt her again.”

  “That? It was a couple of kicks, nothing more.”

  “You were hurting her. We don’t treat women like that here in America.”

  “But you’ll take a belt to a child who lies about doing his homework. Makes lots of sense to me, mi amigo.”

  “Nothing is perfect.”

  Alvarez smiled, lowering his gun a little. “I assume the police have already dropped the charges I brought against you. I’m sure she reassured them that she left of her own free will.”

  “I would assume so.”

  “Then why are you here? What reason would you have to care about her or her brother now?”

  I rolled my shoulders a little, not bothering to answer. Alvarez’s eyes cut to the bed, a knowing look coming into his eyes.

  “Let me tell you, you should never confuse good sex with romance in this business, hermano. It’ll just fuck you up.”

  “I’ll try to remember that.”

  Alvarez nodded. “I know she’s not at the compound. Is she in a safe house somewhere? If you people are anything like my organization, you have safe houses all over town.”

  “I can’t tell you that.”

  “There’s a million women out there like her, Elliott. I’m sure you can find yourself a pretty little girl to take her place. What about that kindergarten teacher you were with a couple of weeks ago?”

  I shook my head, not impressed with his attempt to frighten me with the fact that he’d checked into me. That was public. She posted on Facebook nightly. It didn’t bother me at all.

  “There is no one out there like Brooks.”

  “She’s a cheater.”

  “She’s probably the kindest, most generous person I’ve ever met.”

  “And that’s what matters to you? What about all the whoring around your ex-wife did? That bothered you a little, I suppose.” He clicked his tongue, dismissing Miranda’s behavior. “I had a boy do that to me. Thought it wouldn’t matter that he was fucking every pretty boy in every bar between here and Dallas. I had his balls removed.”

  My own balls retracted a little just at the thought. “I’m sorry that happened to you. It’s not a good feeling.”

  “Wasn’t for him, either.”

  I stepped further into the room, holding my hands higher as he jerked his gun barrel up. “Look, I just came for Jimmy. You let me take him and I’ll go, no problems.”

  “You really think I’m going to let you take the only leverage I have left over my wife? Not hardly.”

  It was really beginning to bother me the way he kept pointing out that Brooks was his wife. I knew Brooks was his wife, but I also knew it was a marriage of convenience that meant nothing to either of them. I was done with that line of discussion.

  “I’m not leaving here without Jimmy and you’re not handing him over, so I guess we’ve got ourselves a little standoff.”

  “A Mexican standoff, I believe you Americans call it.”

  I shrugged.

  “You shouldn’t have come, Elliott. You’re not doing her any good standing here like this.”

  “Brooks isn’t coming back. You might as well accept that.”

  “Is she talking to the cops? We’ve had a car on the police station all day, but we haven’t seen anything. My men think she’s split town, but I’m sure you’ve got her in some safe house, talking to the cops as we speak. Am I right?”

  He was smarter than he looked, but I wasn’t going to tell him that.

  He waited for my answer. When I didn’t give one, he waved his hand and the door to the sitting room burst open. Someone had been watching from the other room. Two men, both dressed in dark suits, both Latino, came into the room with their guns drawn. I moved on instinct, backing up and pulling my gun. I got off a single shot before my shoulder exploded with pain. I vaguely registered Alvarez falling backward as one of his men—the one I’d held at gunpoint, a self-satisfied smile on his face—fired four times right in the center of my chest.

  I fell back, the room going dark for a moment as pain registered at a degree that seemed impossible. It hurt far too much. And then I was on the ground. I fired again, holding it together long enough to watch the kneecap of my would-be killer explode. Then chaos reigned, as Kipling charged into the room, firing multiple times, his semi-automatic pistol spitting fire—or appearing to—as I gave in to the pain and rolled back, my hands pressed to my chest.

  Fuck me, but it hurt!

  Chapter 23

  Brooks

  I pointed out the window at the warehouse we were driving past.

  “That one. The one in the center with the broken window in the attic.”

  “Are you sure?”

  I nodded. “Positive. I saw a picture of it sitting on Juan’s desk.”

  “And you’re sure there are weapons about to be delivered there?”

  “Yes. The date is marked on Juan’s calendar in his office. I check it every time he leaves the house, trying to figure out when I might be able to sneak out and see my brother.”

  “Is that good, Detective?” Tierney asked, taking hold of my hand.

  “Better than good.” They drove us to the end of the block and made a turn that would take us back into the heart of the city. “And you’re willing to sign a statement about everything you’ve told us?”

  “Yes. And if I can ever get back into the house, I have a notebook full of dates and times. I’ve been keeping track of everything that went on in that house and everything I overheard since the day Juan and I got married.”

  “Smart girl,” Tierney said, squeezing my hand.

  I sat back, wondering where Elliott was and if he would think the same thing when he heard what I’d done. I would have told him these things sooner, but I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t be placing him in danger if I did. I stared out the window, wondering what he was thinking about me, about everything we’d said to each other this morning. I regretted it, all of it. I wish I hadn’t pushed him like I did. I simply wanted to know that if I did this that he’d be there for me, to help me pick up the pieces of my life. I shouldn’t have been that selfish.

  We were driving through downtown Austin when Snider got a call. At the same time, Tierney’s cell phone began to ring. She tugged it out, a tense expression washing over her face as she answered it. She listened for a moment, her eyes moving over me.

  “Do they know who was shot?”

  My spine stiffened as she said that. Instinctively, I knew this wasn’t good. I knew it had something to do with me and Juan and everything that was going on. Tierney’s quick look at my face as she listened to whoever was on the other end of her conversation seemed to confirm my fears.

  She disconnected the call a moment later and took my hands.

  “You have a brother?”


  “Jimmy? Why?”

  She took a deep breath, squeezing my hands. “Elliott learned that Alvarez had taken him to his house, I guess to use him against you? He took it upon himself to lead a team into Alvarez’s house to get him back, but it was an ambush. Alvarez was waiting for him. There are three down, but they don’t know for sure who or how bad.”

  “Three?”

  She nodded. “Elliott took three operatives with him. One was downstairs, acting as a distraction to the men there. Two were in the garden out back. Elliott was in the house.”

  I shook my head. Tears were welling in my eyes, my throat, burning me. “My brother—?”

  “We don’t know.”

  “And Elliott?”

  She shook her head again.

  Detective Snider glanced back at us. “We’re headed to the hospital. We’ll meet whoever they bring in there.”

  My heart began to pound as the detective turned the car around and sped toward the hospital. Tierney held my hand tightly, chewing on her bottom lip as she watched the city rush past the windows.

  “You have someone…?”

  She nodded.

  I felt this overwhelming sense of guilt fall on my shoulders. What if Elliott was hurt? What if Tierney’s man was hurt? It was all my fault. Elliott wouldn’t have been in that house if not for me. And Jimmy? I’d dragged him into all this by marrying Juan. What if Jimmy…?

  I couldn’t even bear the thought of going through all of that all over again. Or losing him this time. I just…he was all I had left.

  We arrived at the hospital right behind an ambulance. Snider made us stay in the car until the paramedics had removed their patient and taken him inside. Tierney waited for me, holding my hand still as we walked into the emergency room. But then utter chaos surrounded us, people everywhere, laughing and crying and showing every degree of humanity. I was about to go to the front counter and ask after both Jimmy and Elliott—would they even allow me near Elliott since we weren’t family?—when Tierney let out a little gasp. She pulled away from me and rushed across the crowded room and into the arms of a tall, handsome man.

  Her man. And if her man was okay…

  I suddenly heard screaming, a familiar voice that sent my heart pumping. I spun around, trying to locate the source of the sound. I spotted him, just on the other side of a set of swinging doors.

  Jimmy.

  I ran over, pushing my way through even as hands reached out to me, trying to stop me.

  “Jimmy,” I called, thrusting my way through.

  He turned at the sound of my voice and suddenly smiled, his agitation settling almost immediately.

  “Books!”

  He touched my face, moving my skin around as though to make sure it was real. And then he tossed his arms around me and hugged me.

  “I’m here, Jimmy. It’s me.”

  He hugged me tight, his grunts turning into something like laughter. I had to stop him, though, when he began to swing me and I nearly lost my footing. When I pulled back, I saw the doctors and nurses around us simply staring.

  “I’m his sister,” I said.

  The doctor came over and—glancing cautiously at Jimmy—said, “We’ve been trying to calm him for the better part of an hour. And you just walk in…incredible.”

  “Was he brought in with anyone? My friend, Elliott—”

  “Mr. Wallace? I believe they’re still working on him down the hall.”

  “Working on him? Was he injured?”

  The doctor studied my face a moment. “Are you family?”

  I shook my head. “He’s…he was helping me with Jimmy.”

  The doctor seemed to contemplate that idea for a moment. Then he sighed. “He’s in trauma bay number two.”

  I took Jimmy by the hand and was rushing down the hall before the doctor finished his statement. I found the room easily, but there didn’t seem to be anyone inside. I pushed through the doors, my heart in my throat. I was having all these thoughts about surgery and heart-lung machines and morgues. What if he was seriously injured? What if he’d been shot? What if...?

  “What are you doing here?”

  He was standing just outside the bathroom door, a hospital gown over his chest, but his jeans poking out underneath. He was a little pale and walking stiffly, but I didn’t see anything on his face that might indicate why he was in this room.

  “Are you okay? I thought…they said someone was shot.”

  “And you thought of me?”

  “You’re the only one I thought of.”

  He came toward me, his hands reaching for my face. He ran his palms over each cheek, his thumbs brushing my bottom lip.

  “I am so sorry for what I said this morning. I was acting out of fear and that’s really not like me. I…” He shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

  “No, I’m sorry. It was too soon for me to ask those kinds of questions.”

  “It wasn’t. It’s not.”

  He kissed me almost roughly, but when I touched his chest, he hissed, pulling back.

  “What?”

  He pulled the hospital gown aside to reveal a series of huge, ugly bruises forming all along the center of his chest and his ribs. “They say two broken ribs. Could have been more.”

  “What happened?”

  “Bulletproof vest. I took five in the chest, one in the shoulder.”

  That’s when I saw the bandage on his shoulder. I raised my hand to touch it, but didn’t make contact. I couldn’t stand the idea of hurting him.

  “It’s okay,” he said, tugging my hand close to him, resting it against his shoulder. “I won’t break.”

  “No, I don’t suppose either of us will.”

  He kissed me again, drawing me close to him. I snuggled against him as carefully as I could, struggling to avoid causing him any more pain than necessary. When I closed my eyes, I knew this was where I wanted to be for the rest of my life. Nowhere else could ever feel this safe, this secure, or this exciting.

  “Books!”

  I’d almost forgotten about Jimmy. I turned and smiled.

  “Jimmy. You remember Elliott?”

  “We rode over in the ambulance together.”

  Jimmy came over and patted Elliott on the shoulder, making him wince. “Good.”

  I laughed. “Yes, he’s good.”

  There was a tap on the door then. A nurse stuck her head inside, smiling when her eyes landed on us.

  “I was told a Mrs. Alvarez was in here.”

  “That’s me.”

  I stepped forward as Elliott snagged my hand. The woman’s eyes narrowed slightly and her smile disappeared.

  “You’re Mrs. Alvarez? Mrs. Juan Alvarez?”

  “I am.”

  “If you’ll come with me, ma’am,” she said, her tone suddenly emotionless and sharp.

  I glanced back at Elliott. There was darkness in his expression now, too.

  A sense of dread slowly fell over me.

  We walked down a series of corridors, Elliott lagging behind with Jimmy beside him. The woman eventually paused outside another large room very similar to the one we’d just left. The woman opened the door and gestured for me to go inside.

  There was a doctor and several nurses standing over the bloodied body of a man, but they weren’t doing anything. It was pretty obvious that whomever they’d been working on was beyond their help. It didn’t register with me who it was on that table until the doctor stepped aside and gestured for me to take his place at the man’s bedside.

  “Juan?”

  His eyes were slightly unfocused, but he managed to pick me out.

  “Ironic,” he mumbled weakly.

  There were two holes in his chest, and all this medical paraphernalia that looked nothing like the stuff visible on television medical shows. And he was shaking, his hands shaking and his teeth chattering like he was standing out in the freezing cold instead of sitting in a hospital on a hot, late summer day. I took his hand in mine, holding it for the first t
ime since our wedding day.

  “It’s going to be okay, Juan,” I said softly, at a loss for anything else to say.

  He rolled his head against the thin mattress. “My father…” He gurgled a little deep in his chest. “My restaurants…”

  “Don’t worry about it now.”

  He looked at me, anger and fear and pleading all mixed together in his eyes. “You…”

  And then his eyes simply went blank. It wasn’t like the big dramatic scenes on television and in the movies. He didn’t jerk. His eyes didn’t close. He was just simply gone. One second there was a soul in his eyes, the next, nothing.

  An overwhelming sense of grief hit me. I don’t know if it was because my father would not allow me to see my mother when she died, or if it was because I wasn’t with my father when he died, but seeing the life leave Juan sent this wave of emotion rushing through me. I cried out, unable to contain the pain. And then my knees went weak, and I knelt there beside his body, bloody trash surrounding me on the floor. Violence. There was so much evidence of violence in this room. Somehow, it seemed appropriate.

  It was Elliott who came and picked me up, Elliott who led me out of the room. And it was Elliott who held me in his bed that night, holding me hard against him as the sobs tore through my body.

  Chapter 24

  At the Compound

  David sat across the table from Meredith Franklin, a former Marine whom Kipling had vetted. This was the second interview they had granted her. They had it parred down to two: Ms. Franklin and Nolan Everett, also a former Marine. Ms. Franklin had left the service five years ago to get married and have children. She was now divorced with two toddlers that her ex had primary custody of. She was interested in getting back into the field as quickly as possible, but there was something about her, something about her eagerness, that made David nervous.

  “You served overseas?”

  “I was stationed in Japan for three years.”