by Carolina Mac
“What are you looking so glum about?” asked Annie when she whizzed into the kitchen.
“Aw, shit, Ace. I’m short of breath every fuckin time I pick the baby up or carry her up the stairs and Ty was lecturing me on it just this morning. I’m fuckin useless.”
Annie laughed. “You will never be useless, cowboy. You have so many skills it’s downright frightening.” She stroked his dark hair. “I’ll love you till they bury you six feet under.”
Jesse grinned. “Thanks, for that, Ace.”
“Are you here for a reason, or just to let the baby play?”
“I’m on mission,” said Jesse. “Someone sent me.”
“Oh, Jeeze, already?”
Jesse nodded.
Declan appeared in the hallway pushing Dougie the Dog in a wheelchair, his bandaged leg, splinted and sticking straight out in front of him pointing the way.
Jesse stood up. “Hey, there Mr. Robertson, just the man I want to see.”
Dougie stared at Jesse and looked him over. “Who are you and what do you want with me?”
Jesse got behind the wheelchair and turned the Dog around. “Let’s have a little private talk in the office.”
“What if I don’t want to talk to you, whoever the fuck you are?” growled the Dog.
Jesse pushed Dougie into the office and locked the door behind them. He parked Dougie in front of the big cherry desk and sank down in Annie’s leather chair.
DOUGIE sucked in a breath, not knowing what in hell he was in for with this big dark-haired son of a bitch of a cowboy locking him in the office. Taking into account the condition of his ribs and his right leg, without a weapon he was damn close to defenseless.
“Let’s start off with some introductions, Dougie. I’m Jesse Quantrall. I’m a Texas Ranger on special assignment and I’m a partner in the Blackmore Agency. We deal with violent crime in Texas.”
“You’re partners with the Latino kid? Annie’s kid?”
“That’s right.”
“Okay, what do you want with me? For saving me from the cartel and protecting me, I know there’s some goddam shit thing I’ve gotta do. Nobody gives you something for nothing. Specially no fuckin cops.”
“I’m speaking for some people who would like information. Information that they feel you have.”
Dougie shook his head. “I don’t know shit from nothing.”
“Maybe you do and maybe you don’t,” said Jesse. “You could have the information they want and not realize it. For now, I’ll just call them ‘the people’ because this is classified—between you and me.”
“More of this ‘classified’ bullshit that Annie has been trying to snow me with?”
“She’s not snowing you, Dougie. She works for a higher power.”
“What the hell do these higher power people want? Lay it on me cowboy Ranger.”
“What they want is simple. Information you’ve learned about border crossing points, which cartels are supplying most of the drugs that are coming into the country, names and locations you can provide, and details on how the B team obtains it’s constant supply of drugs from down south.”
“You want me to rat out my own club? Are you nuts?”
“No, I’m not nuts.” Jesse grinned. “The people I represent are willing to give you protection in return. If you give them what they need, they’ll make it known—and it will be convincing—that you’re already dead. They can give you a new life.”
“Bullshit,” hollered the Dog. “I’m not going into witness protection. US Marshalls hovering around all the time and in the end the people you’re hiding from always find you and take you out. You spend your whole fuckin new life scared shitless that they’ll find you and then they do. They find you and blow you apart. I’ve seen Criminal Minds.”
“If you choose not to enter into the witness program you have another choice.”
“What’s second prize?” Dougie fidgeted in the wheelchair. He needed a smoke bad and if he didn’t get one soon, he’d kill this guy behind the desk.
“You stay here with Annie and work for her.”
Dougie let out the breath he was holding. “I could work for her? Doing what? I don’t have any skills.”
“You have skills well-suited to being a bodyguard.”
She was in love with her last bodyguard. That’s an option I could live with.
Dougie nodded his head. “That might be okay.”
“I’ll arrange for Blacky to come and take your deposition,” said Jesse.
“The kid cop?”
“He’s an attorney too, but chances are he’ll bring a credible witness—maybe Chief Calhoun or someone else of suitable rank—maybe Governor Campbell.”
“Fuck that. I’m no hell around rich people.”
Jesse grinned.
“What the fuck are you smiling about? Did I say something funny?” Dougie felt the heat rising in his neck and he wanted to reach across the desk and close his hands around this guy’s neck.
“You seem to be okay around Annie.”
“I figured she had money when we played poker, then I saw this place and I was pretty sure she was loaded. She told me she had a big company.”
“Powell Corp.,” said Jesse. “She needs a full-time bodyguard.”
“Powell Corp? I saw that goddam building when I lived in San Antonio. She owns it?”
“She and Blacky are the principals.”
“Fuck that,” said the Dog.
“Think about it, Dougie. Get yourself healed and feeling better and we’ll talk again in a couple of days.”
“Okay, got it. I’ll think it over. I’ve never ratted anybody out before, so this is gonna go against my nature. Got to look at it from every angle before I go spilling my guts to the fuckin government.” He stared at the big cowboy for another thirty seconds and he was sure he didn’t like him. “You seem to know a lot about Annie.”
“I know a fair bit about her,” he drawled. “She’s my wife.”
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