Hidden Prey (Lawmen) (14 page)

As Marks left, Landon spoke to O’Donnell. “Don’t let her out of your sight and don’t take her out of the house.”

O’Donnell shook his head. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Landon turned and headed for the kitchen. When he moved inside, he saw paramedics lifting Johnson onto a stretcher. His right pant leg was soaked in blood, and an oxygen mask was over his nose and mouth. He was hooked up to two IVs.

“How is he?” Landon asked one of the paramedics.

“Agent Johnson lost a lot of blood and there’s no exit wound so the bullet is still inside,” she responded. “But he’s stable. We’ll get him to the hospital.”

Johnson was a big, powerfully built man, so he still managed to appear tough, but he did look exhausted.

Landon went to him and placed his hand on Johnson’s arm. “You’re going to be fine.”

Johnson gave a thumbs up before closing his eyes.

Tori thought her heartbeat would never slow, but it finally did. As she looked around her at the devastation, her gut twisted and she felt sick. So many dead bodies with limbs at unnatural angles, and wide, sightless eyes. Blood splattered on the walls and in puddles on the floor.

With a small cry, she clapped her hand over her mouth and ran for the bathroom. She dropped to her knees in front of the toilet and her stomach heaved. Everything came up. She vomited and vomited until there was nothing left. She vaguely realized someone was holding her hair back, away from her face.

When she raised her head, Landon was there, and he was the one holding her hair back. As he handed her a wet washcloth, she felt a moment’s embarrassment that he’d seen her throw up.

She wiped her lips with the cloth as she rose and flushed the toilet. She went to the sink where she washed her hands then tried to rinse the acidic taste out of her mouth. Her eyes were red and watering, and her face was flushed. She splashed cold water over her face and used a hand towel to dry off.

Landon rested his hand on her shoulder as she composed herself. “Thank you.”

He brushed hair away from her cheek. She turned and started to walk into the hall, but he stopped her. “You don’t have to go out there.”

“I’ll be fine. I just got a little sick.” She tucked her hair behind both ears. “I don’t have anything left to throw up anyway.” She still had that awful taste in her mouth. “But I could use a drink of water.”

Landon turned to O’Donnell. “Would you mind getting bottled water out of the fridge? I’ll take Tori into one of the bedrooms where it will be quiet.”

“Sure thing.”

Landon escorted Tori to the master bedroom in the back. Grateful there were no bodies in the bedroom, she sat on the edge of the bed. O’Donnell showed up with a bottle of water for her and one for Landon.

Gratefully, she drank the water. The buzz and hum of voices and activity faded away as her thoughts narrowed in on what had happened. Jimenez’s men had found her and had come to kill her. For the second time in as many days, she’d come close to losing her life.

She closed her eyes, trying to block everything out. Instead, she heard the shouts of men breaking into the house, cries of men dying, a man coming through her window and aiming his gun at her.

Oh, God.
She couldn’t believe all of this was happening.

Her eyes popped open and she thought she might be sick again. She swallowed. Her hands shook as she took another drink of water and tried to calm her thoughts.

“We’re ready to go.” Landon touched her arm and she startled and looked up at him. O’Donnell stood behind him. “We have another safe house to take you to. This won’t happen again.”

They walked through the living room, dodging bodies and crime scene personnel. Tori did her best to not look around her at bodies or blood.

The whole thing was surreal and she felt like she was walking in a waking nightmare that might never end.

Just as they reached the front door, two black SUVs with dark tinted windows pulled up in the driveway. Agents climbed out of the vehicles and circled the SUVs while three came to the front door.

The next thing Tori knew, agents surrounded her, dwarfing her. They swept her toward the vehicles and then she was inside on the bench seat in the back, Landon on one side of her and an agent sitting on her other side. Another agent sat in the front passenger seat as the driver climbed in. The SUV had been kept running.

Once again they drove in circles through Bisbee to make sure they weren’t being followed. Instead of staying in Bisbee, they headed toward Sierra Vista. When Tori had first arrived in Bisbee, she wouldn’t have believed she’d be traveling back through the Mule Pass Tunnel so soon, this time running from a drug cartel.

For the first time since they’d been attacked tonight, Tori thought of Gregory. She knew deep inside that something bad had happened to him, and the thought made her ill. If she had thought of him sooner…

Her eyes widened as another thought hit her. She turned to Landon, trying to keep panic out of her voice. “My parents. We need to check on them.”

“I already called.” Landon put his hand on hers and gave a reassuring squeeze. “The agents on duty said your parents are fine and there has been no sign of anything out of the ordinary.”

Tori let out a long, slow breath. “Thank you.”

He squeezed her hand one more time. “Everything will be fine. I promise.”

She wished she could believe him, she really did. She wasn’t sure anything would ever be fine again.

Diego clenched the cell phone as he straightened in his office chair. “Tell me again how you failed me.” His voice was cold as he spoke with one of his men in Arizona who was supposed to have taken care of the
problem.

“I am the only one who survived.” Carlos’s voice wavered. “Everyone else—killed by the American agents.”

“Why are you alive?” Diego let ice into his tone. “You ran like a dog.”

“There was nothing I could do.” Carlos was pleading now, his voice shaking. “I needed to report to you.”

Diego held back his fury. “I wish to speak with Alejandro.”

The tremble in Carlos’s voice clearly made it difficult for him to get the words out of his mouth. “Yes, sir.”

Alejandro came on the line. “Pablo and John called just now. They know where Tori Cox’s mother and father are and they have both the woman’s and her boyfriend’s computers. If we need any more information then we should be able to find it there.”

“Good.” Diego leaned back in the padded leather office chair. “Make sure you send men who will not fail this time.”

“I will, Father.” Alejandro never showed weakness, which pleased Diego greatly. “What do you want me to do with Carlos?”

Diego did not hesitate. “Shoot him.”

A moment later he heard Carlos begging for his life and then a single shot.

Alejandro came back on the line. “It is done.”

“Good.” Diego drew in a long breath then let it out. “Have his body dealt with and send men to take care of the woman’s family. Have the mother and father held hostage until we get the woman.”

“It will be taken care of, Father. We still have the tracker on her phone.”

Diego disconnected the call and set the cell phone on his desk. He clenched his jaws tight and reined in his emotions. He did not lose control. This was a temporary problem that would be dealt with.

A knock on the doorframe had Diego looking in the direction of the door. His granddaughter stood there and she looked confused. He mentally cursed himself for not making sure the door was closed so she would not hear anything she should not.

He put on a smile for her. “How is my angel?”

She smiled back. “Maria brought dresses for me to try on for my
Quinceañera.
You said you wish to approve of the dress I am to wear.”

“Of course.” He pushed back his chair and left the encrypted cell phone on the desk. His own cell phone was in his pocket, but it wasn’t guaranteed to be secure like the encrypted cell phone was.

When he reached the doorway, Angelina linked her arm through his. “She has them in my bedroom. You can wait in my sitting room and I will model them for you.”

Diego patted his granddaughter’s hand. “I am looking forward to seeing you in the dresses.”

Angelina’s bedroom was in the wing on the opposite side of his home. He preferred that she be as far as possible from where he held his business dealings. When they reached her sitting room, he sat back in one of the richly upholstered chairs.

Maria was waiting in the room, and she gave Diego a deferential bow. Angelina smiled then whirled and went through the connecting door into her bedroom with Maria following close behind.

Angelina returned fifteen minutes later, smiling and wearing a lavender dress that almost reached the floor and barely showed her ankles. However, it bared most of her back and as far as he was concerned, it was cut far too low for a young woman.

He shook his head. “No.”

Her face fell. “I think it’s beautiful.”

“No,” he repeated. “It is too revealing for a young lady of your age.”

Holding back a pout, she left the room with Maria and in another ten minutes returned wearing a lemon yellow dress. This one had puffy sleeves, but bare shoulders and a low neckline like the lavender one.

He frowned. “Who selected these dresses for you?”

“I did, out of the portfolio the dress maker sent.” Angelina grasped her skirt and held it up as she spun around. “Isn’t it lovely?”

He narrowed his eyes at Maria who looked fearful. “Is there anything more modest?”

“Yes.” Maria gave a nod. She turned to Angelina who now appeared crestfallen. “The pink one. Your grandfather will like it.”

Angelina frowned. “But I don’t.”

“Come.” Maria gestured to the connecting door. “When you have it on you will find it beautiful on you.”

Angelina didn’t look at her grandfather as she left the room. A part of him wanted to give his little angel anything she wanted, but he would not allow her to bare herself at such a young age. She was going to be but fifteen years old. Yes, a young woman, but still too young for such things as dresses that showed too much skin.

This time when Angelina returned, she wasn’t smiling. She wore a pink floor-length dress with many flouncy layers. It had puffy sleeves and suitably covered her back and chest. It was the perfect dress for a young woman.

“That is the one.” Diego smiled and stood. “You look as beautiful as your mother did at her
Quinceañera
. You look so much like her.”

Angelina still wore a frown. “Are you sure you don’t want to see any of the others?”

“This one is perfect.” He beamed at her. “I know beauty when I see it and you are the rarest of beauties.”

Her frown faded a bit. “I think I look like a little girl in this dress.”

He shook his head. “You look very much like a young woman.” He approached her and took both her hands in his. “I am proud of you. Your mother would have been so very proud of you as well.” He squeezed her hands. “I know she he is looking down from Heaven and singing with the angels as she watches over you.”

Angelina’s smile returned. Diego knew how much she liked to please him. She was a lot like her mother that way. Rosanna had been a daddy’s girl, and Angelina was her grandfather’s girl. He would have it no other way.

He took her by the shoulders and kissed one of Angelina’s cheeks and then the other. “Do you know how precious you are to me?”

“As precious as you are to me.” She smiled. “I love you, Grandfather.”

“And you know that I love you more than life itself.” He gestured toward the door connecting to her bedroom. “It is time for you to get ready for bed.”

She gave him a hug then turned and headed into her room, Maria following.

When the door between rooms closed, Diego put his hands behind his back and rocked on his heels. His granddaughter was truly the most precious thing in his life and he would do anything for her.

He left the sitting room and headed back to his office and the reality of his business. He kept it as separate as he could from his personal life. As far as he was concerned, his granddaughter would never know the realities of his world. She would grow up wanting for nothing and living the life she so richly deserved.

When he reached his office, he closed the door behind him, moved behind his desk, and took his seat. Now to make sure one woman didn’t cause his family any problems. No one would be able to protect her. He had long arms that stretched from Mexico to the U.S. and no one could escape his grasp.

No one.