“This is personal for you, huh, amigo?” Vega glanced across the truck cab. “This hombre killed your brother.”
Coop didn’t want to go into details. “Delgado’s responsible for a lot of deaths, maybe not all directly, but like my brother’s, he’d ordered them. We just need to prove it. Dammit, he needs to be off the streets.”
He pulled up out front of the building with the sign Kerry Springs Community Center and got out as the sheriff pulled up. Brad got out of the patrol car along with Captain Collier and a federal agent.
Without many formalities the foursome went inside. It was the sheriff who spoke to an older woman behind the counter.
She smiled and said. “You here to arrest someone, Brad?”
“Not unless you’re causing trouble, Emma.” He nodded. “We’d like to check the men’s locker room.”
She eyed the group, then said, “Sure. Just let me know if the guys are leaving their towels lying around.”
They walked down the hall past the door to the inside gym. Coop felt the adrenaline flow with anticipation as they entered a room lined with small lockers. This had to be it. He took out the key and checked the number again.
“Which one, Coop?” his captain asked.
“One eighty-nine.”
“Here it is,” Vega called from the end of the row in the corner.
Slipping on rubber gloves, Coop walked up and inserted the key. It turned and the door opened. He pulled on the handle and swung it open, revealing a black gym bag. Coop took it out and set it on the bench, then stood back and drew a breath.
“You want me to do it?” his captain asked.
Coop nodded. He’d gotten too close to this. His brother, Lilly’s husband. He wanted to end it. Now.
Collier unzipped the bag, and reached inside and found a towel, but below that was a thick manila envelope. The captain opened it and pulled out a stack of papers with a cover letter. Both Collier and the federal agent went over them for the next few minutes.
“It’s from Michael Perry.” He handed Coop the letter.
Coop began to read to himself.
To whom this may concern:
I hope there is enough here to put Santos away for a long time. It was difficult to get everything because I was being watched 24/7. But when possible I made copies of all their activities. As much as I tried, I couldn’t convince my sister, Stephanie Perry, to leave him. So the only thing I could do was act as if I went along with everything. I gave up my wife and family to secure their safety.
Perry went on to tell of places and times of deliveries. And the big surprise was that Santos and Delgado were two different people. They were twin brothers. It suddenly dawned on Coop that that had been the reason they could move so freely back and forth across the border.
The letter also told that the drug shipments were coming through Nuevo Laredo, packed in bags of fertilizer and in the base of plants. He gave the location of a warehouse, and the twin, Delgado’s, headquarters.
Perry went on to talk about hiding a second set of papers to throw off Santos. He knew his days were numbered, and was hoping to get to the agents before he was discovered, or his family was put in any more danger. His main concern was that his wife and kids would be protected from Santos.
The letter was signed, Michael Perry, and dated two days before his death.
“Okay, I’d say we have enough to get him—or them, Santos and Delgado. So I need to alert border patrol.”
His captain looked at him. “You want in on this, Ranger Cooper?”
Coop pulled his Texas Ranger badge out of his pocket and pinned it on his shirt. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
HOURS later, Lilly was beginning to feel like a prisoner as she paced the small apartment over the Blind Stitch, but she knew she and the kids were safest here. Sean had sent over some food for them and Kasey and Robbie were watching a video on television. Restless, she went to the window. The street was busy with five o’clock traffic, as much as Kerry Springs had of it.
She couldn’t help but wonder about Noah. What was he doing right now? Was he safe? Did he go after Santos and Stephanie? What had happened to her calm and easy life? Now she had a bodyguard and her family had been threatened.
And she’d fallen in love with a stranger.
A tear hit her cheek and she wiped it away. Who are you, Noah Cooper? She only knew he was one of the good guys.
“Mom!”
She turned at Kasey’s voice. That’s when she saw Stephanie Perry standing at the top of the stairs, holding a gun. Her kids hurried to her side and Lilly held them close. “Stephanie, what are you doing here?”
The big-boned woman looked worse than usual. “Don’t act innocent. You found Mike’s papers, didn’t you?”
Had Noah found them? “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Stephanie.”
“I saw the sheriff going out to the yard. Because of you, Rey left me.”
“Maybe that’s a good thing.”
Her ex-sister-in-law glared. “You always did hate me because Mike gave me so much attention.”
“Let’s not bring Mike into this, Stephanie. He’s gone and there’s no reason to hurt her kids.”
“Yeah, don’t say nothing bad about my daddy,” Robbie said bravely.
Stephanie glared, her eyes cold. “Everything would be fine if it weren’t for your daddy, little boy.” She looked at Lilly and waved her gun. “If he had just kept his mouth shut, there wouldn’t be a problem.” Tears filled her sister-in-law’s eyes. “But he wouldn’t listen to us. Rey couldn’t take the chance that he’d go to the law. There wasn’t a choice, Lilly, but at least I made it easy for him. He was asleep, and didn’t even know what was going to happen. It was peaceful.”
She took a step toward Lilly and she stepped back with her kids. Oh, God, Stephanie helped kill her own brother. She needed to get help.
“He was your brother, Stephanie.” Lilly tried to keep her attention. “He loved you.”
“And he didn’t want me to have Rey. Rey was the first man to care about me. He loves me and I love him. We were going to run off to Mexico, but now you’ve spoiled everything. Rey’s gone without me.”
“Surely you can still go.”
She took a step closer. “That’s right. You and the kids need to drive me to Mexico.”
Kasey whimpered. “Mom…”
“It’s okay,” she whispered and shielded her kids behind her, trying to control her fear. “Stephanie, you can’t take my kids. I’ll go.”
That was when she saw Noah making his way up the steps. He placed his finger over his lips to keep silent.
Before she could speak again, Noah made his move, grabbing Stephanie from behind and knocking the gun from her hands. She was pinned to the floor in seconds. Then the other agents came rushing up the stairs. Stephanie was cuffed and being read her Miranda rights, then was led off.
Coop tried to slow his breathing as he looked at Lilly. That had been way too close for comfort. “Are you guys all right?”
Both Kasey and Robbie ran to him and hugged his waist. “I was so scared,” Kasey admitted. “If you hadn’t gotten here in time…”
“I wasn’t scared,” Robbie said. “I knew you’d come and save us. You’re a Texas Ranger. Wow!” He touched the star pinned to Noah’s shirt. “That’s cool.”
“Sorry, I couldn’t tell you before,” Coop said to the boy. “I had to keep it a secret so I could get the bad guys. Thanks to your baseball and your dad, we did both.”
His eyes widened. “Really?”
Again he looked at Lilly. “I’m sorry it took so long. We didn’t know where Stephanie was until Santos told us. She came through the unlocked door from the alley. The agent was posted out front.”
Beth hurried up the steps and hugged each grandchild and her daughter, then started downstairs with Kasey and Robbie. It was Coop who stopped Lilly.
“Could I speak with you?”
Lilly
watched as her children disappeared down the stairs, the door closing behind them. The silence was deafening as they were left alone. Lilly finally turned back to Noah. She looked over his uniform, white shirt with his five point star badge. “So you’re a Texas Ranger?”
He nodded. “I work undercover a lot, out of El Paso. Homeland security called us in on this case.”
She glanced away from him. “I should go be with the kids.”
“This will only take a short time, Lilly. I want to let you know that we found the papers Rey Santos had been looking for.”
She looked relieved. “You have him in custody?”
He nodded. “We’ve had the business under surveillance for a few weeks. So once we got the proof, and a warrant from a judge, we went to the landscape yard. Santos had just left, but we caught up with him about twenty miles out of town. Guess that’s why Stephanie came here…he’d ditched her like excess baggage.”
He released a breath. “We’re leaving now to apprehend his brother, Delgado. We got a tip about where he crosses the border.” He pushed his hat back. “It’s thanks to your husband, Mike, that we have evidence. He was the one who contacted us about Santos’s operation.”
Tears formed in Lilly’s eyes.
“Lilly, he only left you to protect you and the kids. Santos wouldn’t let him walk away from the operation. So to keep you safe, he filed for divorce. He’d set up a meeting with federal agents, but they didn’t get here in time. When they heard of Mike Perry’s suicide, they had a feeling he was the informant. We’re sorry we couldn’t get there soon enough.”
She nodded. “You did the best you could.”
“Sometimes that’s not good enough.”
“So the reason you came here was to find the evidence?”
He nodded. “We’ve been after Delgado for a long time. He’s been bringing drugs across the border for years. Nothing we did could stop him.” He stepped closer. “This information isn’t for public knowledge, yet, but I felt you needed to know. You lost so much the past two years. It’s the reason I couldn’t tell you who I was. The reason I moved into the cottage. I figured it was the best way to protect you and the kids.”
Lilly wasn’t trying to block out his words, but they managed to cut deep.
“Look, Lilly, I know you’re not ready to hear this, but I still have to tell you, I never planned to get personally involved with you. I only wanted you all safe, to protect you and the kids.”
“Please, I prefer not to talk about last night.”
Coop hesitated then nodded. He saw her pain and hurt, and hated himself for causing it. He pulled out a long envelope from his back pocket. “It’s not the original letter, because that’s in evidence, but this is a letter Mike wrote to you. He wanted to be sure you knew the real truth.”
Her hand was shaking as he gave it to her. “Thank you.”
“I don’t want your thanks, Lilly. I handled this all wrong. The only good thing that happened is that we got a drug lord off the streets and hopefully in prison for the rest of his life. Stephanie is going there, too, so you don’t have to worry any longer about her.”
He heard Rico call his name from downstairs. “I need to head down to the border for Delgado.”
She looked at him with those hazel eyes that would forever haunt him. His chest tightened at the thought of leaving her. “But I’m coming back, Lilly. We’ll talk, and I’ll tell you everything.”
“Seems there’s nothing left to talk about, Noah. Your job here seems to be finished.”
He stood there for a long time, trying to find the words. He couldn’t find them so instead he drew her into his arms and covered her mouth with his. The kiss was deep and all consuming. When he finally released her they were both breathless. “No, Lilly. We’re not finished, not by a long shot.”
Two days passed before Lilly, Beth and the kids were able to get back into the house. It had been cleaned and everything put back the way it was before. They were still pretty shaken up and they stuck pretty close together, unable to forget the events of the past few days.
Even knowing Santos and Stephanie were in jail, they couldn’t help but be worried about staying alone. Sean spent the first few nights in the guest room.
With the house quiet, Lilly walked outside onto the porch and sat down on the swing. The evening air was warm, but tolerable. It felt good to be outside and feel safe again. She wanted so much to enjoy the rest of the summer, maybe take the kids on a short vacation. In a few weeks she had to go back to work to get ready for a new school year.
Her thoughts turned to Noah. Maybe it was good that he’d left town. She hadn’t been around to see him gather up his things from the cottage, which was for the best. Besides, he was probably already on another job.
Great. Now she was worried about his safety.
No, she had to stop thinking about him. He was where he belonged, in El Paso. She belonged here in Kerry Springs. Two different worlds. Then why was it such a struggle to put the man out of her head, out of her heart? He’d told her that he wasn’t the kind to settle down. He did undercover work, and she was a school principal and the mother of two kids. What kind of life would that be? Not that the man had offered her any future. Just because she’d spent a night in his arms, making love to him didn’t give her any rights. Only guilt.
She saw a shadow and jumped. “Who’s there?”
“It’s me, Coop.” He stepped onto the walkway so she could see him.
Oh, God. “What are you doing here?”
His expression didn’t give anything away. “I just got back from Mexico.”
“Did you find Delgado?”
“Yes. We got lucky and apprehended him as he crossed the border. He’s in custody. I had to come back to town to finish up some things on the case. We’ve been out at Perry’s Landscaping, collecting more evidence.”
Coop couldn’t stop looking at her. Lilly’s beauty had always left him awestruck. His feelings for her hadn’t changed, either. He was crazy about her and no matter what he did, she wouldn’t get out of his head. “I had to stop by and see how you and the kids are doing.”
She stood up. “As well as can be expected. They’re in bed. I took them to the cemetery today. We’ve never been to Mike’s graveside, not since the stone marker was placed there. I felt in light of what has happened, it was important for them to get closure. To let them know what their father did. How much he loved them. And if anything good came out of this tragedy, it’s that.”
He nodded, but he didn’t come up the steps. He didn’t trust his feelings, and Lilly wasn’t ready for what he was wanting to offer her. “Tell Rob that as soon as they release his baseball from evidence, I’ll get it repaired and back to him.”
“You don’t need to do that, Noah.”
He lost the fight and walked up to the porch. “I like it when you call me by my name.”
The streetlight illuminated the porch just enough. He couldn’t see her eye color, but he could see her reaction to him coming close to her. “But only when you say it, Lilly.”
She released a shaky breath and turned away. “When will you be going back to El Paso?”
He wanted to say never, but he had a job to do. “Probably tomorrow.”
She looked at him. “So soon. I mean, your work here is finished?”
So she didn’t want him to leave. “No. This case will take a while to put together for the prosecution, so I’ll be back and forth.”
“Oh, I see,” she said.
No, she didn’t see anything. “Would that really bother you, Lilly? If I left? If I left for good?”
“I don’t know how to answer that, Noah. These past few days, my entire life has been turned upside down. My kids, too. I can’t think about anything except putting one foot in front of the other.”
“Of course. Just so you know, I want to help, Lilly, but I won’t push you.” He took out a business card and handed it her. “Call me if you need anything, day or night.” Unable t
o resist, he leaned down and brushed his mouth over hers. “I know you’re not ready now, but I’m coming back.”
Then the hardest thing he’d ever had to do was turn and walk away from Lilly Perry.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
TWO weeks later, Lilly drove downtown. It was hard to believe how fast the time had gone. Soon summer would be over, and it would be fall and a new school year. She’d return to work and the past few months would all be a memory.
At least she would stop thinking about the “what ifs” all the time.
What if she’d known what had been going on with Mike? What if she’d had a better relationship with her daughter? What if she’d never met and fallen in love with a Texas Ranger?
Lilly shook away the thoughts. As her mother had told her during a recent late night talk, You can’t go back in time. Get closure on the past and only then can you move forward and think of the future.
That was Lilly’s first priority, to help her children heal. Hers would come later when she could think objectively about Noah Cooper. Problem was she wasn’t sure she ever could.
Putting on a smile, she walked into the Blind Stitch. Jenny had returned to work this week, so her mother was back hanging out with her friends at the Quilter’s Corner.
Of course, the conversation these days was more about a certain man, Sean Rafferty, rather than how many baby quilts they needed to make for the upcoming year.
Lilly sent a wave to Jenny behind the counter, then headed over to the corner table. She felt warmth from just being here, in this shop. Once the word broke about what happened with Stephanie and Santos, a lot of people wanted to help her. Her closest friends were these women here at the shop, Jenny, Millie, Allison and Liz and, of course, her mother.
She walked to the table to find the ladies putting together a beautiful wedding ring pattern. “Oh, my, this is so beautiful.” She loved the soft greens and yellows and all the detail the ladies put into their work. They could easily sell them for hundreds of dollars, but they preferred to give them away as gifts. “Who’s the lucky couple who’s getting this one?”
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