Her Cowboy Protector (12 page)

"Yes." Cruz shifted the receiver to the other side and clamped it between her ear and shoulder. She used her now free hand to reach into her purse and pull out the blue pen she kept in there. "I'm ready."

"The address is www.january28.com."

As Cruz wrote, she asked, "Does that mean anything to you?"

"Yes," the woman said after a few seconds. "That was the day my other son was killed."

Cruz almost dropped the phone. "You lost another child? Oh my goodness, Mrs. Stafford. I am so very sorry."

"Thank you. It was a long time ago. Nine years actually." Before Cruz could work up the nerve to ask the woman how her other son had died, Mrs. Stafford spoke again. "Please don't call here again. I'm destroying this paper. I'm done with this."

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you for your help."

The line went dead and Cruz hung up the phone. She readjusted her bag of groceries and purse and turned toward the truck. Her eyes widened as she ran right into Deputy Jolene Grimshaw. Judging by the suspicious look on the woman's face, she'd heard more than enough of that conversation.

"Forget your cell phone,
Mrs. Campbell
?"

There was no mistaking her derisive tone. Cruz refused to give her the satisfaction of rising to her barb so she smiled and gave a flaky laugh. "Oh, you know how it is when you're pregnant. I've become so forgetful."

"So I hear." Jolene's gaze slid to Cruz's belly and lingered there. "Congratulations on the boy, by the way. I'm sure Niall is thrilled."

"Very," Cruz said, this time telling partial truth. Niall was a hard man to figure out but she'd come to realize he was actually a little excited about the coming baby.

"Odd phone conversation," the deputy remarked, her arms crossing in front of her chest.

"Do you make a habit of eavesdropping on phone calls?"

She shrugged. "I thought you'd had some car trouble. Lord knows Joe's old heap isn’t reliable."

"So you thought you'd just listen in to see if I needed a jump or a tow?"

"Something like that," Jolene agreed as she took a few steps closer. Cruz tried to back up but the phone box hit her firmly between the shoulders. Voice lowered, the deputy said, "How about we cut the crap, Miss Montes?"

Montes? Had she run a background check? Had she used her position as a law enforcement officer to dig dirt? Cruz swallowed and tipped her chin up, refusing to be pushed around by this woman. "I don't know what you're talking about, Deputy."

"I don't know what game you're playing with Niall—"

"I'm not playing games."

"Oh, really? You've hoodwinked him into believing
that
," she jabbed a finger at Cruz's belly, "is his, but I know for a fact that's impossible. Paula says you're eight months pregnant. I can do the math. Niall was at his ranch all of October and November."

Cruz fumed at the way her privacy had been invaded. "Haven't you people ever heard of HIPAA? You can be damned sure the proper authorities will be notified of the gross breach of privacy surrounding my medical records."

"You sure you want official type folks nosing around here? The way I figure it, you've got something to hide. Or maybe it's that DEA brother of yours that's got you on the run?" Jolene laughed right in Cruz's face. "What? You forget that you can't fake fingerprints? You think those DEA covers are really that deep?"

"Are you out of your mind?" Cruz fought the urge to poke a finger in the other woman's chest. "Do you have any idea what you're saying? How you're putting innocent lives at risk by revealing that kind of information? Do you think my brother is the only man undercover? What is wrong with you?"

Jolene closed the small gap between them and practically bared her teeth. "If you hurt Niall, I'll hurt you.
Me entiendes?
"

Cold dread gripped the back of Cruz's neck. This woman was off her rocker. Cruz put a guarding arm across her belly and sidestepped the deputy. She didn't dare look over her should as she walked back to the truck, her steps quick and her gait a bit shaky. She hurriedly climbed into the truck and locked the door. She leaned over and locked the passenger side too.

Feeling safe, Cruz dared to glance back at the phone booth but the deputy was already heading into the store. Cruz could just imagine the smug grin the other woman wore. She turned the key in the ignition and adjusted an air vent to blow on her face. Nausea roiled in the pit of her stomach. Her face burned with fear and panic. It was all she could do to breathe.

When she finally calmed down enough to drive, Cruz pulled out of the parking lot and headed home. She'd never looked forward to seeing Niall and that stupid, isolated ranch more. No doubt he wouldn’t be happy to see her.

Oh, no. This time Niall was going to be furious.

* * *

Niall swore a blue streak as he put his truck in park. The second the house had come into view he'd noticed one thing missing: Joe's truck.

"Looks like your old lady went into town, boss."

Joe had a knack for stating the obvious and Niall tried not to snap at him. "Yeah. Looks like, Joe."

"That's okay." Joe opened his door and slid out of the passenger seat. "I don't mind waiting."

Joe's lack of a ride home was the least of Niall's worries. Where the hell was she? He climbed out of the truck and pulled the cell phone from the holster clipped onto his belt. No missed calls. He had pretty good service on the ranch so he was sure he'd have received a call if she'd made one.

Without a second glance at Joe, he headed for the house. He jerked open the door and stormed inside. "Cruz!"

There was no answer. He stalked into the office, the place where he'd expected to find her. She'd obviously been working there. He found a half-eaten apple, the once white flesh now brown, and a room temperature glass of that peach iced tea she liked with only a few sips remaining. She hadn't been gone that long.

He tapped the space bar and woke up his desktop. What he found on the screen soured his stomach. It looked like she'd unearthed a new twist to this sordid affair. The boyfriend was dead, too, and from the looks of it, he was political.

Great, just great. That's all they needed! The political muscle of Texas clamping down on their necks.

But that didn't help him right now. He needed to know where she'd gone and when. Niall left the office and made for the kitchen. He spotted the yellow sheet of paper on the counter and slid it closer.

The grocery store. She'd gone to the grocery store!

"Of all the—" Niall's tirade was interrupted by the sight of headlights bouncing down the road. He turned on his heel and rushed out of the house. As he stepped onto the porch, Cruz parked the truck where it had been left. When she climbed out looking as though she hadn't a care in the world, Niall wanted to scream. His hands fisted at his sides as he counted to ten and tried not to lose it.

Joe said something to make her laugh as she handed over her one bag of groceries. Grinning from ear to ear, she playfully swatted his arm. They walked over to the porch together and it was all Niall could do not to shout at her. She took the grocery bag from Joe and thanked him for leaving the truck. It took every ounce of Niall's self-control to bid Joe a calm farewell and not let on to just how furious he was at that very moment.

As Joe walked back to his truck, Cruz avoided his gaze. He read her body language like an open book. She knew she was in trouble. If she thought turning some those big, beautiful eyes on him and pleading some weird craving was going to get her off the hook, she had another thing coming.

Joe's truck made the turn toward the main road and Cruz finally worked up the nerve to meet his gaze. If he'd been able to shoot flames from his eyeballs, she would have been toast. He gritted his teeth and waited to see what she was going to say first.

"So I guess you're mad at me."

"Mad at you?" Niall barely contained his anger. "I'm furious, Cruz. You're just lucky you're pregnant or I'd drag you over to a chair, throw you over my lap and spank your ass."

Eyes widening, she took a fearful step back. "You wouldn't."

"Try me."

She gulped and her lower lip quivered. He looked away from her crumpling face. His gut twisted as that first sob tore from her throat. "I'm sorry, Niall."

He fought the urge to pull her into his arms and console her. Instead, he snapped, "You should be! Do you have any idea how I felt coming home to find you gone?"

"No."

"Emergencies only, Cruz! You promised me you'd only use that truck for an emergency. How in the world was making a run to the grocery store an emergency?" She started to open her mouth but he cut her off. "And don't even think about blaming this on the baby and some ridiculous craving. If you really wanted to make that baby happy, you wouldn't have driven off by yourself at dusk down a highway that sees sparse traffic. God, Cruz! Do you know dangerous that was?"

"Yes," she admitted, her voice thick with emotion.

"So why?" Niall was completely at a loss with her. "You are smarter than that. My god, woman, you're the most brilliant person I've ever met. You can't tell me a woman whose mind works like a calculator couldn't figure out the odds of trouble if she drove into town alone."

"I needed a pay phone."

Niall gaped at her. "You what?"

She lifted her chin and squared her shoulders. "I needed a pay phone so I could call John Stafford's parents."

"You're not serious." A quiver of panic lanced his belly. "Please tell me you didn't call his family and ask questions about his murder."

"I started to but—"

The shrill ring of his cell phone interrupted her. Annoyed, Niall pulled it from the holster and started to silence it but his gaze flickered over the screen and caught his Texas Ranger contact's name. He glanced back at Cruz and shook his head. "Get in the house. We'll finish this conversation when I'm finished with this call."

Cruz's jaw tightened. "Don't dismiss me like a naughty child, Niall."

"Then don't act like one, Cruz."

She clenched her lips together and stormed past him, her shoulder purposely knocking into his arm. He answered the phone as the screen door slammed against its frame. "Hey, Diego."

"Hey, Niall! Long time no see, bud."

Niall tried to sound relaxed and interested as Diego made small talk about the ranch and his work down south in the San Antonio area and the camping trip he'd just taken with his wife and three kids.

"So that thing you wanted me to check out," Diego said eventually, "does it have anything to do with Carlos's kid sister?"

"Maybe," Niall purposely obfuscated. "Why do you ask?"

"The files are flagged. Same perpetrator suspected or confirmed in the cases," he added. "I'd heard about Carlos's sister from a friend of mine with ATF. It's not often that a man like El Alacrán lets a victim live. Well," he said, "let's get real. She's the only known survivor."

"I'd like to keep it that way."

"I hear you, man." Diego sighed. "This girl, this Daniela, she was burned pretty badly in the fire. No DNA on the body. Probably died from strangulation. Some signs of torture remaining on the body. Same story with the boyfriend killed a day earlier but he caught two bullets to the back of the head."

Niall let that additional bit of information sink in but he figured Cruz was well aware of the fact. She'd been awfully busy while he was away.

"Bullets match a gun The Scorpion has used before so we're sure he did the hits. He seems to like toying with us. That's the only reason I can figure he'd use the same gun over and over again."

"Yeah, he sounds like a real peach." Niall removed his hat and ran his fingers through his sweat-dampened hair. "Any idea why they were targeted?"

"Officially? No."

"Unofficially then," he prompted.

"There's this rumor in the San Antonio area that one some of the politicians here are pocketing cash from the De La Garza cartel. I don't know if it's true or not. Could be mudslinging but there's a definite undertone of corruption around here." Diego paused before continuing, "Look, Niall, I'd like to help you and Carlos out—we were tight over in Afghanistan—but I've got kids, man. Two people have already been killed and a young woman was assaulted. I can't bring that home with me."

"I understand, Diego. This conversation never happened."

"Thanks, man. Oh, and, Niall?"

"Yeah, Diego?"

"You might want to tell your local heat to lay off the background checks. Someone down there has been making calls about Cruz. If El Alacrán is as connected as we think he is…"

"Yeah," Niall said, his chest constricting with dread, "I know."

The call ended and Niall let his arm drop, the phone still clenched tightly in his fingers. He stared out at the wide expanse of open space. Nothing but gnarled trees and sunburned grass as far as the eye could see. With that kind of view, it should have been an easy place to defend but doubts started to creep into Niall's mind. Last night some creep had been crawling around the place. If someone at the sheriff's department was digging around, it was only a matter of time before son of a bitch figured out Cruz was here.

Maybe it was time to start thinking long-term. This ranch didn't need him. It had run perfectly well with just Joe and Hank as the last owner's health had failed. If push came to shove, Niall could leave it in their hands if he had to make a midnight dash with Cruz. He'd sunk a lot of money into this old place. It wasn't much but it was his. He'd hate to see it go but he wouldn't hesitate to leave it all behind for her and the baby.

The sound of pots banging atop the stove filtered through the screen door. That didn't bode well. He didn't want to hash it out with her but it had to be done. She needed to understand that she couldn't go off on a whim, especially now that things were so very complicated.

The need to pull her soft body into his arms, to feel the rounded curve of her belly pressing against him, drove Niall to near madness. He didn’t know when it had happened but Cruz Montes has wormed her way into his thoughts, had stoked long dormant fires that had been all but snuffed out by time and loneliness. She made him want things he shouldn't want.