“Grams isn’t doing well. The doctors don’t want us to upset her, so we aren’t allowed to raise her blood pressure.”
“Not well?” I asked, peeking my head out. “Should I stay?”
“Personally, I think this is just another one of her ruses because she doesn’t want to have the difficult conversation about why she didn’t tell us Talia may still be alive.”
“Can’t say I blame her, that is if she knew anything about it. I’ll check in on her when I get back from helping the FBI.”
“Cassie, I know you can protect yourself. After all, I taught you. But don’t you think this is taking things a little too far? You aren’t FBI. And you’re walking straight to where this killer is. That’s not smart.”
“Cassie Bennett isn’t smart,” I answered as I stepped out of her bathroom. The red sundress hit mid-thigh. The wide-brimmed hat sat low on my head with my now brunette tresses curled beneath. The actress-sized sunglasses sat on my nose. “But my new identity is smart and daring. Wait, what’s my new name?”
Gwen rested her hands on her hips and whistled. “Damn, you look hot.”
I clapped my hands together in a giddy-schoolgirl kind of way when Gwen walked into the bathroom and came back out, holding bold red lipstick, a shade she knew I’d never wear. She shoved it into a purse I’d left on the bed.
“I want you to be smart.” She opened the bedroom door and exchanged my suitcase for one she already had packed in her closet. “In order for you to pull off being someone else, you have to play the part.”
“Special Agent Nathan Murray, I’d like you to meet Cassie Newman.”
“Newman? Are you serious?” I asked.
Gwen chuckled.
“Cassie, you look different, and what’s wrong with Newman?” he asked, missing the inside joke.
A knock sounded on the door as I answered. “Newman is the last name of my first boyfriend.”
“She used to practice writing his name,” Gwen called out as she answered the door, returning moments later opening a brown envelope. She grinned as she handed me the documents. “Cassie Newman, you’re now unofficially official.”
“Newman,” I repeated, letting the name roll off my tongue, trying to get used to it. Cassie Newman. Not as exciting as James Bond, but it would do. I thumbed through the documents. There was a passport, a driver’s license, and a platinum credit card. I held it up.
Nathan shifted uncomfortably. “You know using forged paperwork is against the law without government approval.”
Gwen shrugged. “If it comes down to it and you need the approval. I can get it. But you’re going to need all the necessities to pull it off. Be sure to use it once or twice before you get there. You need to get used to signing your name. Stick as close to the truth as possible so that you’ll remember the details. You two met while working a case. Cassie was attacked, and Nathan saved her.”
“Wait, he didn’t save me.”
“It’s true. I didn’t save her.”
Gwen sighed. “I know, but it’s more romantic that way, and it lends credibility to the idea of Cassie being an easy target.”
“And I’ll kick his ass.” I grinned.
“No, you’re not kicking ass. If there’s any ass-kicking to do, that’s my job,” Nathan said.
Gwen high-fived me in passing. We both knew who would be doing the deed. “I’ll have a car waiting to pick you up at the airport. The driver will give you everything else you need, Cassie, including a gun and some cash.”
“I hope you have a permit to carry a gun,” Nathan said.
“She will before the plane hits the runway,” Gwen said with a smile.
“You’ve thought of everything.” I squeezed my sister tight, knowing she hated it when I invaded her personal space.
“I’ll pick up the package Abby is sending you, and when you get back, we can start trying to hone in on Talia and the other Bennett line.
“Who are Talia and Abby?” Nathan asked.
“She can explain on the plane ride.” Gwen shoved us toward the door with the new luggage. “Oh, one more thing.” Gwen ran to her room and returned with a pair of diamond stud earrings and a diamond bracelet.
“I don’t know about this, Gwen. I might lose these.” I gawked as Gwen fastened the bracelet to my wrist.
“I’d give you the diamond necklace, but we both know you won’t remove your crystal.”
She was right. I never took that thing off and for a good reason. “What if I lose them?”
“It’s okay, Cassie. They’re insured. Besides, you find things.”
The flight was in coach. Nathan offered me the window seat. It was only then that he told me that he’d taken this time off to follow up on the lead. That there wouldn’t be any FBI backup or people in play. We were totally going into this alone.
When the plane touched down, we were met by a man holding a sign that read Newman. I would have walked right passed him had Nathan not nudged me and leaned in to whisper in my ear. “Isn’t that you?”
“Cassie Newman?” the driver asked as we approached.
The other people waiting for their loved ones were more down-home casually dressed in wide-brimmed cowboy hats. We’d been greeted with a chauffeur wearing an expensive suit. Apparently, we weren’t going to blend in.
“Yes.”
“Clayton Michaels, FDG.” He grinned and took my carry-on bag, sliding the strap up his shoulder. “I’ll be your driver while you’re in town, and I’ve booked our rooms at a local hotel. Neither Gwen or Mrs. Delany informed me if you had reservations.”
Clayton was a pretty boy. His dark chocolate hair perfectly coifed. His designer suit without a single wrinkle. His smile was filled with mischief, but if what I knew about FDG was true, this man had some secret kick-ass technique that he hid beneath his well-mannered vibe.
“Oh, we don’t need reservations. We’re staying at the farm.” Nathan said.
“A farm?” Clayton asked.
“Yeah, my daddy’s farm, but don’t worry. He’s got an extra room for you too.”
Chapter 6
“I couldn’t possibly impose,” Clayton said.
Nathan patted Clayton on the back. “I’ll feel better with another agent around to watch her back.”
“Great,” Clayton said, as if he’d just been told he needed a root canal. “Please tell me your father doesn’t have farm animals. I’m allergic to them.”
“Which ones?” I asked as the conveyor started to move and the luggage began to come through.
“All of them,” Clayton answered.
I wasn’t sure if my sister even realized how much she’d missed the mark on sending Clayton to be our driver. He was dressed as if he were off the New York runway and not someone that might step in horse manure.
We strolled out through the electronic doors. The smoldering heat smacked my face like a sopping dishrag, and pressed heavily on my chest. The sun seemed about five times brighter than in my hometown. A limo was parked outside. It contrasted with all the other vehicles, mainly consisting of beat-up pickup trucks and four-wheel drives. People in the distance rode on horseback, corralling sheep.
“Aren’t we going to stand out in that thing?” I asked.
‘Your sister insisted on the best.” Clayton said.
Nathan grabbed for the door handle, but Clayton knocked his hand away. “I’m the chauffeur. At least let me do my job.”
“I’m sorry that my sister got you into this,” I said, sliding inside onto the leather seats.
Clayton poked his head in to meet my gaze. “I owed her. She saved my life. The least I can do is watch out for her sister.”
Nathan slid in next to me while Clayton loaded the luggage in the trunk. “You sure do have an interesting family.”
“My life was boring, but that all changed when Fillpot showed up in town. See, my sisters and I all have unique abilities, and now Special Agent Fillpot has convinced Gwen that our baby sister is still alive. He has her
hunting a ghost she can’t ever expect to find.”
“Crazy genes and all, I appreciate you helping. We ran out of leads a long time ago until one of the bills resurfaced.”
I understood the need for closure. When my parents and sister died, I’d been lost in a dazed whirlwind trying to process the overwhelming grief. I knew what it meant to need things finalized in order to breathe.
I glanced out the window, taking in the scenery. Millville, Texas, was exactly like I thought it would be after looking at it from in the sky. The vast openness of the land catered to farm equipment and tumbleweeds. The town was clumped together in one area with tendrils that reached farther out for those who didn’t enjoy congregating with people.
I refocused on Nathan. “If you grew up here, you must know everybody in town. Do any of them strike you as bank robbers?”
He shook his head and turned his gaze out the window. “Not a one, but if I find out one of them was responsible for my mother’s death, it’s going to be hard not to take justice into my own hands.”
The window between the driver’s compartment and the back lowered as the car was started. Clayton glanced in the rearview mirror. “Gwen told me you two just met. You’re sitting too far apart to be a happy romantic couple. You might want to get the awkwardness out of the way while behind the tinted windows.” Clayton chuckled as the window rose again, blocking us off from his commentary.
“He’s right,” I said. I slid the dress up my legs and climbed onto Nathan’s lap.
His body tensed with my unexpected action, but relaxed as he grinned. His palms rested on my hips. “You don’t have a shy bone in your body, do you?”
“In my line of work, I’ve had to play all kinds of parts to get close to my targets to serve papers or sweet talk information on my bail jumpers. Granted, it didn’t involve climbing onto laps, but I’m a closet actress. I don’t just help Nancys looking for their lost car keys.” I smiled, staring into his eyes. “Kiss me.”
Nathan swallowed uncomfortably as he met my gaze, but that didn’t stop him from following through on my demand. His hand rested on my lower back. His lips met mine, slow and sensual. He kissed me like a man savoring my taste until he broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against mine. Our heated breaths mingled.
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
“Hold that thought,” I said seconds before I kissed him like I meant it. There was nothing slow or essential about the way I took his lips, devouring him and tasting him in a single breath. I pressed my body against him as desire pulled within me. His hand on my back slid into my hair, tilting my head, giving him better access. Our erratically beating hearts matched until I broke the kiss.
His gaze lingered on my lips as we both fought to catch our breaths. “That was hot.”
He opened his mouth and then closed it again. His hands still holding onto me, he leaned in and kissed me again as if he’d needed just one more kiss to validate the heat sizzling between us.
The feeling was mutual.
He pulled away, and I climbed off his lap, fanning myself. “It’s hot in Texas.”
“I think you just made it ten times warmer,” Nathan said, clearing his throat.
“Okay, we can pull off chemistry. So what did you want to tell me?”
“My family is as unusual as yours.”
“Ooooh,” I cooed. “Do they have abilities too?”
He chuckled. “Not quite, but you’ll see.”
The conversation ended as the limo pulled beneath a metal arch that read Murray Ranch. The road was bumpy, but I stared out the window. Where I’d expected farm animals and barns, there was a gated area with men working around large metallic equipment plunging down into the earth, thrusting like a man thrusting his hips in the heat of passion.
“What in the world?”
“That’s an oil rig,” Nathan said as the car pulled up to the three-story house with three beat-up pickup trucks parked outside. “I said my momma was killed at the bank, not that she worked there.”
Chapter 7
Clayton opened the door, and Nathan slid out, extending his hand toward me. “Well played, Agent Murray. When you said farm, I didn’t see this coming. Maybe it would be better if I stayed out here.”
Nathan chuckled as he and Clayton rounded the vehicle to get the bags out. I cupped my hand over my eyes, shielding them from the sun as I gazed around the area. Trees lined one side of the house, which would create shade at sunrise. Toward the south, a oil rig was churning. In the other direction, the fields were empty for miles, with one exception—a barn in the distance with a gated area and a horse galloping inside the fence.
“You have horses?” I asked.
“Yeah, my sister rides them. She competes,” Nathan said.
The screen door shoved open and banged off the house siding. A young woman wearing a cowboy hat came running out. She charged Nathan, and he’d barely dropped the suitcases in time before catching the young woman in his arms and lifting her in a hug off the ground.
“You didn’t tell me you were coming.”
“It was a last-minute decision,” Nathan said and glanced up onto the porch. He gave a quick wave to the older man sitting on the porch in the shade watching us.
Nathan led the young woman over to me. “Squirt, this is Cassie. Cassie, this is my baby sister, Amanda.”
Amanda held out her hand, and I shook. “Who beat you up?”
I’d almost forgotten about my bruises. Heat crept to my cheeks. “A man in a bar. He stole my French fries, but don’t worry, he looks worse.”
Amanda’s brows dipped as she turned her glare on her big brother. “Was she with you? Did you let her get hit?”
“It was over before I could intervene. That’s one of the things I love about Cassie. She doesn’t need a man to save her.” Nathan rested his arm over my shoulders.
Amanda’s eyes widened. “You never bring girls home.”
“She’s special,” Nathan answered.
“And who are you?” Amanda asked, glancing at Clayton.
“I’m the driver and her friend,” Clayton answered.
“Am I being punked?” Amanda asked, walking to the back seat of the car. She yanked the door open and stuck her head inside as if expecting to find someone filming the entire exchange.
“No, squirt, you aren’t being punked, so be nice,” Nathan said, grabbing the suitcases. “Come on, you guys, let me show you where we’re sleeping.”
Amanda wrapped her arm around mine and led me to the porch. “He didn’t tell you about us, did he?”
Heat climbed to my cheeks. “He’s been busy with work, and so have I.”
I tried to stick as close to the truth as possible as Gwen had schooled me, but something told me that little Ms. Amanda had a keen eye, just like her FBI agent brother.
“Amanda, give her some room to breathe. You’ve got plenty of time to drill her.”
“It’s not me you should worry about.” Amanda chuckled as she disappeared inside the house.
Introductions to the old man on the porch went smoother. Nathan’s granddaddy had hardly said a word while chewing on his unlit pipe.
Nathan showed us inside the house. I’d been expecting doilies and well-worn furniture, and I would’ve been half right. As spacious as this house was, it had every bit of southern charm imaginable, all the way to the smell of homemade apple pie.
“This place is fabulous. I’m surprised you ever left here.”
Nathan guided us up to the second floor. “Cassie will be sleeping in my room down the end of the hall. Clayton, feel free to take any room on this floor. This floor is for guests. The rest of the family sleeps on the third floor.”
“You sleep on the guest floor?” I asked as I followed behind Nathan with Clayton disappearing into one of the rooms as we passed.
“I’m never home, so it makes sense,” Nathan said, opening the wide double doors at the end of the hall. I paused under the doorframe. It wasn’t
just a room we were standing in. It was a suite, complete with a sitting area. “This is bigger than my first apartment.”
“I’m glad you approve.” Nathan chuckled and dumped the suitcases on the bed. “I’ll take one of the couches, and you can have the bed.”
“No need. I’m not a prude. I have no modesty. I grew up with seven sisters, counting Talia.”
I slipped my hat off my head and turned to find a woman standing in the doorway.
“I had to see it with my own eyes.”
Nathan glanced over his shoulder at the woman and grinned. “Mildred, you’re looking as beautiful as ever.” He crossed the room and lifted the woman in a bear hug.
There was nothing petite and helpless about Mildred. She was one of those women who oozed organization with a motherly persona. Her gaze was assessing and unwavering, even as Nathan squeezed her tight.
“Had I known you were coming I would have made all your favorites.”
“There’s still time.” Nathan chuckled. “Mildred, I’d like to introduce Cassie, my girlfriend.”
“Aw.” Mildred’s face softened. “What happened to you, honey?” Mildred asked, touching air near my black eye as if she was afraid to make me hurt worse.
“It’s silly, really. I’m a klutz, and when a man tried to steal my fries, I ran into his fist.” I patted the woman’s arms. “But it’s fair. I think I broke his family jewels.”
“A girl after my own heart.” Mildred’s smile grew as she pulled me into a hug. “Welcome, child. We’re glad to have you.”
“Thanks for having me,” I said awkwardly.
“Your family must not be big huggers,” Mildred said.
Seems she’d read my tense stance accurately. “I come from a big family, but there wasn’t much physical contact. We weren’t really brought up that way.”
“Oh well, the longer you’re here, the more we’ll change that.”
Mildred spun around and headed back out the door. “Dinner is in an hour. Bring your appetites.”
Pay Dirt (Bennett Dynasty Book 2) Page 3
