The Texas Lawman's Last Stand (16 page)

“Do you think having sex would make us think better, as in clearing our heads?” The corner of Mattie’s mouth lifted, and it made him wish she would smile more often. Of course, they didn’t have a lot to smile about at the moment.

“Don’t know about the thinking part,” he drawled, kissing her again. “But it’d make us feel a hell of a lot better.”

Since that wasn’t a joke, Bo decided to end the torture and get to headquarters. Plus, it wasn’t a good idea for them to be sitting in a garage kissing, especially when they had to discuss some things before they talked to their suspects.

“You shouldn’t be in the room when I talk with Tolivar,” Bo said, and he continued even over her objection. “You can listen in and watch. You can even feed me questions if you think I’m missing something, but I have to do this interrogation by the book. We don’t want his legal rep to step in and pull him away from our jurisdiction.”

“They can do that?” she asked. No sign of that smile now. Reality was hitting her again.

“They can try.” But Bo wanted to keep this within the SAPD so he could continue to have Mattie in his protective custody. If the feds took over the case, God knows what they would try to do in the name of protecting her.

“And now for Kendall,” Bo said, moving on to their next problem. “I got a call about him this morning when you were in the shower. It’s true. He really does have aplastic anemia. It’s similar to leukemia, and he’s stabilized with meds for now. But the only chance at a cure is a bone marrow donor.”

“Holly,” she mumbled.

“Holly,” Bo confirmed. “Kendall could be so desperate to see if Holly’s a match that he could be pretending to be a changed man.” But Bo had to tell her the rest. “Or it could be for real. He did indeed sell his business, and he’s had no recent association with anyone shady.”

“That doesn’t mean he’s changed.”

“No. But there’s more. He’s apparently working with the feds, the very people who arrested him for the illegal arms deal.”

“He’s what?”

Bo understood her shocked reaction because it was the same one he’d had when the captain told him the news. “The Justice Department won’t give us details, only that Kendall is cooperating with them by giving them information about some of his former business associates. It’s my guess that this deal will give him immunity, clear his name, and in turn the Justice Department will get to make some arrests.”

She huffed. “And Kendall will go free.”

Yes. And that could be a major problem, if Kendall was indeed the one who wanted Mattie dead. It might mean that Bo had to bargain with the devil, with Kendall, if there was any hope that Mattie would have a normal life. And her normalcy was necessary for Holly’s.

Bo parked in the secure lot directly next to the headquarters building, and when they were done, he wouldn’t use the same car to return to the safe house. He wanted to put as many layers of security as possible between this would-be killer and the children.

He led Mattie toward the interview room with the intention of starting with Tolivar, but he spotted Kendall in the hall outside his office. The man was alone, without his attorney or his fiancée. Kendall was leaning the back of his head against the wall, and he had his eyes closed. For just a brief second, Bo saw the man’s fatigue, and Kendall no longer looked like the threat that he might possibly be.

That made him even more dangerous. He could be playing the part of a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

“Kendall,” Mattie said, practically snapping out his name.

Kendall’s eyes flew open. He didn’t offer them a smile or anything else friendly. “You wanted to see me.”

Bo ushered them into his office so they’d have some privacy.

“I want to know the truth,” Mattie said without even waiting until they were fully inside.

“The truth,” Kendall repeated. “I wonder what that is myself.”

Bo rolled his eyes. “Could we cut the existential BS and get to the facts? Mattie and I want to know what you’re really up to. And then you can tell us if you hired Arturo to try to kill her.”

“I didn’t hire him,” Kendall said calmly. “But I can’t rule out that someone did because they thought in some kind of warped way it would help me.”

“Because if I’m dead, you’d be my daughter’s next of kin,” Mattie jumped in. “Well, I did an online will last night, and I’ve named Bo as her legal guardian. So, if I’m dead, you won’t get your hands on her or her bone marrow.”

Kendall nodded. “Good.”

Surprised, Bo glanced at Mattie who obviously shared his reaction. “Good? Why?” she pressed.

“Because I don’t want anyone with a reason to kill you. I know you don’t believe that, but it’s true.”

“You’re right,” Mattie countered. “I don’t believe that.”

Bo wasn’t sure he did, either, but it left him with a question. “Who would kill Mattie in order to help you?”

Kendall shrugged as if he might not answer, but he finally said, “Cicely. She wants me to live. That’s why she insisted she get pregnant.”

“You don’t want the child?” Bo questioned.

Now, there was some emotion. Something flared through his eyes, but Kendall quickly concealed it. “I want the child,” he insisted. “It’s the mother I’m having second thoughts about.”

So he didn’t want to marry Cicely, but since she was carrying the baby that could ultimately save his life, Kendall was stuck with her. But Bo didn’t feel sorry for the man. After all, Kendall could be the man who wanted Mattie dead.

“And then there’s Ian,” Kendall added after taking a deep breath. He looked Mattie straight in the eyes. “He could want to kill you for a different reason.” He tipped his head to Bo. “And you’re that reason.”

Mattie made a sound of total disbelief. But Bo didn’t. “Ian is jealous of me,” Bo stated. “You think he’s jealous enough to want me dead?”

“Maybe he wants both of you dead. Since he can’t have Mattie, it’s possible he might not want anyone to have her.” Kendall paused. “I’ve been going over all of this for months. I didn’t kill Mattie’s fiancé, so that means someone else did.”

Mattie folded her arms over her chest. “And you think that someone is Ian?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “You’re suggesting an old friend of yours could be guilty of some serious crimes, and you’re apparently willing to do the same for your soon-to-be wife.”

“If they’re guilty, I want them to pay.”

“Yeah,” Bo grumbled. “And if they’re arrested, then the guilt isn’t on you.”

“Believe what you will,” Kendall said softly. He opened the door and started to leave.

But instead he practically ran into Cicely.

The woman looked as startled as Kendall did. But Bo saw something else in the depths of her eyes. She was angry. Had she heard Kendall’s accusations?

“Why are you here?” Kendall asked Cicely.

“Because I love you. Because I was worried about you.”

He didn’t respond to that. He merely kissed her cheek. It was as chaste as the look he gave her. “I have an appointment. I’ll see you at lunch.” With that, he strolled away.

But Cicely didn’t budge. “Did you agree to have your daughter tested for the bone marrow match?”

“No,” Mattie answered.

“No?” It seemed as if all the breath left Cicely’s body. “But why not? How could you have turned down Kendall at a time like this?”

“Kendall didn’t ask,” Bo informed her. And even if he had, the answer probably would have been no.

“He didn’t?” Cicely was obviously dumbfounded. “He was supposed to ask.” She shook her head. “But you’ll agree to do it, right?”

“Bo and I will have to give that some thought,” Mattie insisted.

“Thought? What’s there to think about? You have a chance to save him, Mattie. You can’t refuse. He’s your own flesh and blood.”

“He might have killed Brody,” Mattie reminded her.

Cicely opened her mouth as if to vehemently deny that, but she closed it. She stood there for several long moments, apparently trying to figure out what argument she could give that would make Mattie change her mind.

“Don’t you dare ruin my one chance at happiness,” Cicely finally said, her voice clogged with emotion and with tears in her eyes.

Bo stepped closer, and he made sure the scowl on his face was a good one. “Is that a threat?”

Oh, Cicely clearly wanted to say that it was. But she was too smart for that. “No threat,” she finally said.

Cicely reached into her purse and pulled out a business card, which she handed to Mattie. “Call me if you change your mind. Oh, and there’s this…” She pulled out a small black jeweler’s box that she gave Mattie, as well.

Mattie opened the box and Bo saw the diamond ring inside. Mattie shook her head. “What is this?”

“Ian found it in Brody’s desk after he was killed. Apparently, Brody planned to give it to you.”

“Oh.” And that was all Mattie said.

Cicely shrugged. “I didn’t think it was a good idea to give it to you, but Ian disagreed.”

Mattie eased it into her pocket. “Thanks.” And judging from her expression, she wasn’t sure if it had been a good idea. It had definitely brought back some memories, and he could see the proof of that in her suddenly sad eyes.

“Think about having the test done,” Cicely insisted. She walked away, hurrying in the direction where they’d last seen Kendall.

“Are you okay?” Bo asked Mattie.

She paused a moment. “I’m fine. The ring was just a surprise. When Brody proposed, he didn’t have a ring yet. He said we would pick it out together, so I didn’t know he’d even bought one.” If she wanted to add anything to that, she dismissed it by clearing her throat and tipping her head to an exiting Cicely. “After conversations like the one we just had with her, I don’t think we’re any closer to the truth than we were when all of this started.”

“Maybe.” Bo waited for her to bring up the ring again. She didn’t. So he decided to move on. “But we do have a lot of facts. Somewhere in all of that, there’s the truth.” But he was certainly beginning to suspect Cicely more and more. “Any reason Cicely would have been the one to have your fiancé killed?”

“Not directly.” Now she paused. “But if she thought she was protecting Kendall…”

No need to finish that, because Bo was convinced that Cicely would do anything for Kendall. After all, she probably got pregnant to give him a possible bone marrow donor.

“I need to do the interview with Tolivar,” he reminded her. “You can watch from the observation room and just text me if you have any questions.”

They headed in that direction, but before they made it there, Bo saw his captain and Tolivar making their way up the hall toward him.

“There’s been a change of plans,” the captain volunteered, and judging from his sour expression, this wasn’t a good change for them.

Like his expression, Tolivar’s stare was cold and hard. “My rep advised me to speak with my boss before I answer any of your questions.”

Mattie huffed, and that was exactly how Bo felt. However, he didn’t direct his comments to Tolivar but to his captain. “He shot and killed a man here in the city. It’s our jurisdiction, and he should have to answer questions.”

“Normally,” the captain snarled.

“What the captain means is that Terrance Arturo was a suspect in a federal investigation. I was in pursuit of him when he took those shots at you. When he ran, I went after him. He turned, tried to kill me, so I took him out. Just as I’m trained to do.”

“Yeah. But in doing so, you took out an assassin that someone had hired. By killing him you prevented us from learning the identity of his boss.”

“I also saved him from coming after you again,” Tolivar said directly to Mattie.

She nodded. “I’m grateful for that, but by killing Arturo the danger didn’t end for me.”

“No,” Tolivar agreed. “And that’s why I wanted you back in my custody.” His expression turned even harder. “But you’ve made your bed. Now you can sleep in it.”

When the marshal started to walk away, Bo caught on to his arm. “What the hell does that mean?”

“It means I don’t give a rat’s you know what about Mattie, you or your situation. I was just trying to do my job, and look where the hell it got me.” He threw off Bo’s grip and walked away.

“What did he mean by that?” Mattie asked.

“Tolivar was suspended about a half hour ago,” the captain explained.

“For shooting Arturo?” Bo wanted to know.

The captain shook his head. “We’re not sure, and the Justice Department isn’t talking. I’m thinking they want to pull him in because he botched this case.”

Hell. Bo hoped that didn’t mean some kind of cover-up. He wanted details about why Tolivar had been right there when Arturo launched that attack.

“Do we have any surveillance footage of the shootout between Arturo and the marshal?” Bo asked.

“We’re working on it. If we get it and if it shows Tolivar acted improperly when he killed Arturo, then somehow I’ll haul his butt back in here.”

Well, that was a start. “What do we do about Tolivar in the meantime?”

“Stay out of his path,” the captain warned. “And watch your backs, because I wouldn’t be surprised if Tolivar tried to get some revenge.”

Chapter Fourteen

Mattie winced when the lightning shot through the sky. The storm had finally rolled in around midnight, and it wasn’t showing any signs of letting up.

The thunder came, a low rumbling growl, and the rain pelted against the windowpanes. Thankfully, those were the only noises she heard. The safe house was quiet, and despite the storm, the children were sleeping. Rosalie had insisted on staying the night with them in the nursery, and even though Mattie had volunteered, as well, Bo had convinced her she should get some rest.

Right.

She was exhausted, and she’d managed to doze a little. Cat naps. If she could get her brain to settle down, she might get some honest-to-goodness sleep. But her thoughts kept going back to the danger. To the engagement ring she’d tucked into the dresser drawer. To the whole custody issue with Holly.

And to Bo.

Especially Bo.

There was another jolt of lightning, and Mattie resisted the urge to pull the covers over her head. That’s what she would have done when she was a kid, but tonight she was already too warm, as if her skin were too tight. She recognized the feeling.