Stone Cold Cowboy (28 page)

The driver's door creaked open. She didn't even know where he'd gotten the car. The door slammed and the engine roared to life. He hit the gas and the tires spun in the dirt and gravel parking lot.

They hit the blacktop and raced away from the diner. Away from her only chance to get help. She hoped someone discovered her missing before it was too late. How long would Rory wait before looking for her? She didn't know where Connor planned to take her. She hoped to his hideaway in the hills. If so, she hoped Rory got her note. She hoped he figured out where to find her and got to her in time.

R
ory was ready to punch something when Agent Cooke came back on the line. “What's happened?”

“Connor apparently made delivery to get him out of the trouble he was in weeks ago, but he and the others got hijacked. DEA took down the rivals and confiscated the drugs, but Connor's in debt to Torres now and promised an even bigger shipment . . .”

“And he's about to choke on it if he doesn't come through with the product.”

“Connor's been on a three-day binge. When he got Sadie's text, he went off the rails.”

“What does that mean?”

“He stole some guy's car out of a gas station.”

“Great, he's compounding the charges against him.”

“There's more.”

“Of course there is.” Rory didn't hide the sarcasm in his voice, but his gut twisted painfully, thinking that Connor acting out resulted in only one thing: Sadie paying the price.

“The guy he stole the car from keeps a loaded .45 under the seat. The details are sketchy at best, but when
Connor took off, he went looking for his sister. Beck is trying to find them now.”

Rory slid his hand over the back of his neck and squeezed his tight muscles. He tried to think what Connor would do. Would he hurt his sister? He'd never done so in the past. Not physically, but if he was tweaking hard on drugs, out of his mind, and looking for retribution, he just might be capable of anything.

“We need to find Sadie. She's not picking up her cell.”

“I've got someone checking her work,” Agent Cooke assured him.

“Not good enough. We need agents on my property.”

“We've searched everywhere and found nothing.”

“Yeah, well, we should have had Sadie look at the pictures with us. She found him. That's why he's after her. She threatened to turn him in unless he did so himself.”

“Why didn't she call me? If she's giving him time to escape—”

“It's nothing like that,” Rory cut him off. “She wanted him to do the right thing. To see he's got no way out of this and if he keeps going down the path he's chosen, he'll only end up dead.”

“Fine. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt.”

“Trust me. As much as she doesn't want to see her brother behind bars, it's a better option than burying another member of her family.”

“You got that right. I'm headed your way. We'll land the chopper on your property like we did last time. You can point out the location we need to check and we'll see if we can't end this thing before dark.”

Rory stared out the window at the sun sinking fast.
They had only a couple of hours before nightfall. He wouldn't get his picnic with Sadie.

“I need to know where Sadie is. I'll call the diner, see if I can find her.”

“Too late,” Agent Cooke said with a distinct note of inevitability and regret in his voice. “I just received word. Our agent checked the diner. She left thirty minutes ago at the end of her shift according to staff, but her truck is still in the lot. The agent found her purse tossed in the truck bed.”

“Which means she doesn't have her phone. You're sure?”

“The agent found some distinct tire treads in the lot. Someone peeled out of there in a hurry.”

“Connor grabbed her.”

“It looks that way.”

“But what does he plan to do with her?” Rory didn't want to think about it. “Get here as fast as you can. I'll be ready.” Rory hung up and went to the gun cabinet. He pulled out three rifles and the shells and loaded each and every one of them.

T
he car bumped
over ruts and skidded around corners, the back end swinging out around a curve in the dirt road her brother drove down way too fast. Sadie rolled toward the backseat, hit her shoulder on the top of the car, and threw her hands in front of her to stop her momentum as the car came to a jarring halt.

She rolled to her back and held her breath when the car door opened, then slammed. She put her hands up in front of her, ready to ward off an attack. If her brother brought her to Derek with the devil tattoo and
evil intentions, she'd need all her wits about her to either talk her way out of this situation or fight him off before he hurt her. She tried not to let her mind go to the baby, but the worry for her child had grown into a living thing inside her that made her heart race and her insides grow cold with fear.

“Connor, please, let me out of here.” The suffocating stale oil- and gas-tinged air threatened to choke her and send her into a panic attack. She tried to remain calm, but the too warm, cramped compartment closed in on her. Her whole body broke out in a sweat in the stifling interior. She desperately needed some fresh air and water.

Metal scratched metal and a snick sounded a second before the trunk popped open. Dim light filtered in. She blinked away the temporary blindness and scrambled out of the trunk. She launched herself at Connor, smacking him on the shoulder.

“What the hell? You can't just dump me in there and drive off with me.”

“I guess I can and I did.”

A black Mustang pulled in behind her brother, skidding to a stop and sending up a cloud of dust. Trigger jumped out, his eyes narrowed, his lips pulled back in a tight line. “What the fuck did you do?”

“Where the hell did you come from? You can't be here. If Derek finds you here, I'm dead.”

“You're already dead, dumbshit. That fucking cowboy comes for her, he'll kill you.”

Sadie fisted her brother's shirt in her hands and shook him. “It's over, Connor. Rory knows about this place.” She hoped she wasn't bluffing. She hoped he got her note and read its meaning. She kicked herself
for not being explicit and putting a big damn X-marks-the-spot on the photograph. She should have done what her father expected and done the hard thing. “I should have turned you in the second I discovered this place. If there's a bad choice and worse choice, you choose to make things worse every damn time.”

Connor exploded, grabbing her shirt and hauling her up to her toes. “Not this time. This time, I'm in control.”

“Bullshit. You can't even control yourself. You're high. You haven't slept in days by the looks of you. You have absolutely no plan. You think getting rid of me will solve all your problems, but that's not you, Connor.”

“You get everything you ever want. This time, it's mine.” Connor's eyes glassed over with mania, brought on by the drugs he cooked up and sent out into the world. Those drugs ruined lives. They'd ruined Connor's.

She planted both hands on Connor and shoved him back, breaking his hold on her. “Why are you doing this? You don't want to hurt me. You're angry and hurting because Dad died. You don't know what to do with all that grief, so you're trying to take it out on me. The thing is, I'm done, Connor. I can't do this anymore. I won't be the person you blame, the one you hurt to make yourself feel better, the one you take and take and take from without giving anything back. I won't be your scapegoat for all that's wrong in your life. I can't watch you waste away, those drugs stealing your dreams, your future, your life. I can't. I won't.”

“It's about time you got back,” Derek called, walking out of the cave behind Connor and dropping two large duffel bags at his feet.

Sadie hadn't paid much attention since leaping out of the back of the trunk and confronting her whacked-out brother. The hum of a generator nearby droned on and added to the whooshing gusts of wind whipping through the gully between the rocky hills on both sides of them. The dark hole in the side of the hill wasn't much more than a wide jagged slit with a large overhang that shadowed the entrance. Large trees grew nearby; their canopy overhung the gap between the hills that came together not far from where the dirt road ended at this secluded hideaway.

The shack concealed by large bushes with fans in the windows could only be the place Connor cooked up death.

Derek stopped midstride when his gaze collided with hers. The vile smile died quickly when Trigger shifted behind her, drawing Derek's attention.

“Are you stupid or suicidal? Why would you bring him here? This place is off-limits to everyone but us,” Derek said.

“I didn't bring him here. I took her, but he came out of nowhere.”

“You took her?” Derek strode forward, making Sadie's gut tighten with nerves. Adrenaline surged through her veins. Her heart thrashed against her ribs so hard she could barely breathe. She wanted to run, but froze in place, knowing better than to play the scared fawn to Derek's wolf. She plastered on a bored expression, hoping to cover the fear building inside her.

Connor puffed out his bony chest and sneered at her. “Yeah. She won't fuck this up for me. If she can't turn me in, I can deliver. I'll finally be set.”

Trigger swore and shook his head. “Torres will
never let you out from under his thumb. You're living on borrowed time. If the drugs don't kill you, Torres will when you fuck up again and put his operation in jeopardy like you did when those guys hijacked the shipment and the cops showed up.”

Sadie turned and stepped back, putting all three men in front of her.

Connor tried to keep up his bravado, but the sweat trailing down his face and the way his gaze shifted back and forth showed how out of control he felt. “If Torres doesn't want to work with us, we'll go with the deal Guzman offered.”

Trigger swore. Connor's gaze fell to the dirt. Derek's eyes filled with fury. Sadie had no idea what was really going on here, but it all felt wrong.

Derek pulled his knife and pointed it at Connor. “Why can't you keep your fucking mouth shut?”

“Me? You're the one who blabbed at that bar that we had a huge score moving through Missoula. You nearly got Trigger killed. He barely escaped getting shot and arrested.”

Sadie's gaze flew to Trigger. The man gave nothing away in his eyes or expression. He kept his unyielding attention locked on Derek and the knife.

“Something else went down that night.” The suspicion in Derek's voice matched the gleam of distrust in his narrowed gaze.

Trigger reminded her of a lion ready to pounce. “People get caught for one simple reason. They can't shut up.”

“Still, how'd those cops get there so fast? I might have tipped off the other side, but someone else ratted us out to the cops.”

“You're already playing both sides with Torres and Guzman, maybe the reason you think you can get away with it is because you're the rat squeaking to the cops,” Trigger shot back.

“Fuck you. I'm no snitch.”

“You're not loyal either, except to the almighty dollar you keep chasing with no regard for the threat Torres and Guzman pose if they find out you're playing both of them.”

Connor stepped forward, confusion lighting his eyes. He tilted his head, eyes narrowed on Derek. “Is it true? Did you tell the cops? Are you the reason that batch got fucked up? Are you the reason I've got Torres breathing down my neck for the hundred grand?”

“Connor, no. You can't possibly owe that much money,” Sadie said.

Connor turned to her and in a moment of clarity discovered the truth. “This is what they do; they suck you in and make it impossible to get out. I can't get out.”

“Connor, you can get out. Turn yourself in, and I will help you.”

“There's no help for him now. He goes to the cops and Torres will have him killed. Don't you get it, bitch, they own him now.” Derek turned back to Trigger. “But they don't own you. You've stayed on the outside of things. You push to get in, but never quite get your hands dirty. You tipped off the cops.” Derek pointed the knife straight at Trigger's chest. “You're a fucking cop, aren't you?”

“Shifting the blame? Covering up what you did by accusing me?” Trigger shook his head, his lips drawn back in a tight line. “If anyone fucked up, it's you and him.” Trigger cocked his head toward Connor. “You
two are bumbling your way through this shit instead of keeping your heads clear and sticking to business. You should be cooking up the next batch,” he said to Connor. “Instead, you've stolen a car and kidnapped your sister. What the fuck were you thinking?”

Connor grew even more agitated, scratching at his arm and making it bleed. “I did what I had to do.”

“The only thing you had to do was deliver,” Trigger snapped. “And you, you stupid fuck. Who the hell goes into a bar and brags about a drug shipment and a big score? It's no wonder Torres is trying to cut you out and replace you with someone who knows their shit.”

Derek remained calm while Connor fidgeted and paced back and forth. Sadie stood absolutely still, trying not to draw anyone's attention.

“Let me guess, you want to be the one Torres puts in my place. That's why you've been working me to introduce you to him,” Derek said, going utterly still. The ominous vibe rolling off him frightened Sadie. One spark could ignite a fire and start a fight that no one would win.

Trigger planted his hands on his hips. “Which is it, asshole? I'm a snitch out to take you down, or I'm the one who wants to take your place?”

“Either one puts you in line to work with Torres.”

“I don't know why I fucking try to keep you two in line and focused on the business. We're supposed to be making money, instead we spend all our time cleaning up one mess after the next.” Trigger glared at Connor. “There's no getting out of this fuckup. You're going down for kidnapping.”

“No, I won't.”

Trigger raised his hands and let them fall and slap
his thighs. “What are you going to do? Go for broke and kill her? You really want to spend the rest of your life in jail? Face it, you couldn't live with yourself if something happened to her.”

“Maybe all we need to do is get rid of her and make it look like you did it,” Derek suggested, crouching, ready to strike, the knife held out in front of him.