You're Still the One (21 page)

              "
You
sure are going to be busy." She arched a brow, unable to resist jabbing him a little. "What about me? You're not planning to ditch me, are you?"

              She had only meant to tease, but the words too closely mirrored her secret fear. An awkward silence grew between them.

              "No," he said quietly, then shifted his attention to the road. "We'll do all that, okay?"

              "Okay."

              "Uncle  Dwayne will probably want Tommy in protective custody, possibly Grace, too. Will you be all right with that?"

              Katie smiled as she realized she really would be. "At least I'll know where she is and that she's safe."

              "True."

              Since the beginning, she'd been nervous about the outcome - they were talking about Grace, after all - but she'd never doubted Rick would find Grace. Never doubted he'd keep her, Katie, safe. She had every confidence he would see this through to the end with her, but what about afterward?

              He glanced over. "How well do you know Tommy?"

              "Not well. He's a likable guy and smart. Computer smart, anyway."

              "Bad influence?"

              She shrugged. "At first, I thought he'd be the one man to make Grace feel settled, but I was wrong. I was disappointed when he went to prison. Sure made Grace the more steadying influence in that relationship."

              "There's obviously something still between them."

              "Yeah." Katie ran her fingers through her hair.

              "Think she'll see him once this is over?"

              "I don't know. She obviously wanted to before all this started. It may depend on whether he goes back to prison."

              "Are you okay with it if she gets back together with him?"

              "Do you think it would matter if I weren't?"

              His lips twisted. "I imagine you're anxious to see her."

              "I'm anxious to smack her, but that's never done any good."

              He chuckled. Katie angled into her seat so she faced him, her gaze following the golden wash of sunlight over his features, his muscled arms. "I'm just glad they're okay."

              "She always seems to land on her feet." Rick passed a car, then moved into his lane again.

              "Yes," she murmured. He was exactly right. Grace would manage to land on her feet whether Katie were there to catch her or not.

              Studying Rick's sculpted jawline, the noble profile, Katie realized he'd been right about something else, too. For years, she had struggled with letting go of the responsibility she felt over her mom's death. She knew it would break her mother's heart to know Katie blamed herself. Getting her own heart to let go of that blame was a different matter altogether.

              Every time she thought she had managed to do it, her sister would pull a stunt, and all the uncertainty would well up again.

              Katie saw that maybe she'd used that as an excuse. Maybe she'd been afraid to let Grace go rather than really believing that her sister depended on her completely. That realization drew her up short, but it fit, settled something deep inside her that had felt restless and out of place inside her mom's death. Part of her would probably always feel responsible for her mom's death, but she was tired of carrying it, especially by herself.

              She looked at Rick, and a new determination filled her. She was willing to do whatever it took in order to keep him in her life this time. But regardless of what he decided about them, it was time for her to make some changes, starting with how she dealt with Grace.

              Before long, she and Rick could focus on themselves, sort things out. Once Grace and Tommy were safe, Katie could tell her sister about her plans for a new life.

CHAPTER 13

              The closer she and Rick got to Pet's Dinner, the more edgy Katie became. Not just because she wanted to see for herself that Grace was all right, but because she wanted this finished. The fact that neither she nor Rick had spotted the bald guy tailing them also had her nerves jangling.

              "What do you think happened to Baldy?" she asked as Rick flipped on his signal and turned into the gravel parking lot. "We haven't seen him since Grady City."

              "I don't know, but we need to keep an eye out. I don't like the way he suddenly disappeared."

              Katie nodded, taking in the long white building in front of them. A red-trimmed door and windows, along with a tasteful back addition, nearly disguised the fact that the front section had originally been a mobile home. They drove between the two rows of vehicles parked along its length. She pointed out Tommy's white pickup at the far end of the front row.

              Rick nodded. "If Henderson's goons are around, they won't miss it, either."

              He eased the 'Vette into the first available spot, between an old Chevy sedan with peeling green paint and a grungy brown four-door Jeep.

              He killed the engine, and they both got out. The early summer air was comfortably cool, the sun bright in a pale blue sky. To the north rose four mountain peaks Rick had learned were Mount Lindsey, Little Bear Peak, Blanca Peak and Ellingwood Point, snow visible on their summits.

              Katie scanned the row of cars behind where they'd parked, noticed that Rick did the same, but she didn't see the silver sedan or any car that looked familiar. She should've been relieved, but like Rick, she wondered what had happened to the guy who had attached himself like their shadow.

              Semis and sports utility vehicles zoomed past on the highway. Tufts of sagebrush dotted the sandy pastureland across the busy roadway.

              "There he is."

              Katie turned toward Rick, her gaze going past him to the end of the row. A slender man in a baseball cap, Denver Broncos shirt and jeans stood at the tailgate of a white Ford pickup.

              Tommy made eye contact, then turned and walked around the truck to the side of the dinner.

              Katie started toward him, and Rick fell into step with her.

              "You doing okay?"

              "Yes, just ready to see Grace." She smiled at him, wishing she weren't so jumpy. "I'm glad this is almost over."

              "Won't be long now."

              She hoped so, hoped they could get Grace and Tommy out of here before Henderson's goons showed up. They rounded Tommy's pickup and Katie saw him standing in the shadows of the building.

              She glanced at Rick. "I'm glad you're here."

              "Not going anywhere." He squeezed her shoulder.

              Grateful for the support, she reached up and touched him.

              Even in the shadows Katie, could see how strain had hardened her brother-in-law's usually soft mouth. His short brown hair was hidden beneath the ball cap, and he'd grown a full, if spotty, beard to go with his mustache. His wire-framed glasses did little to hide the anxiety in his gray eyes. "Hi, Tommy."

              "Hi, Katie. Sorry about this."

              "Me, too." She gestured to Rick. "This is Rick Powell. He's my... a private investigator. He's got contacts with the FBI and can get you some protection."

              The men shook hands. Even though Tommy stood only an inch shorter than Rick, he seemed smaller due to his narrow shoulders. He backed against the stucco wall, edging farther into the shadows as he glanced nervously behind him. She and Rick moved closer; Rick stood on her left side, keeping an eye on the parking lot.

              Tommy's eyes were red-rimmed and tired-looking. "Thanks for meeting me. I want you to take Grace with you. There could be trouble, and I don't want her involved. I hope you'll have better luck at talking her into leaving than I have."

              Katie nodded. "We'll get her out of here. What about you?"

              "Thanks." Relief flashed across his sharp features."I'm going to the FBI. I've got three disks in my truck, taped under the seat. They contain all the evidence I could find against Henderson on his computer. From the first time he approached me about running a scam for him to where he threatened to hurt someone close to me."

              "That's good," Rick said.

              "Should I give them to you?"

              "No, you hold on to them, turn them over to the FBI yourself."

              Tommy nodded, his gaze darting to the parking lot. "We can go to the cabin if you're ready. I wasn't followed. I've tried to be careful about noticing that."

              "Great. We didn't spot a tail, either."

              Katie pressed closer to Rick, reassured by his easy handling of their covert meeting. She'd hired him because she trusted him, had known he would help her; in the bargain, she'd gotten a confident, more-than-competent professional and maybe a second chance with him. "Should've we follow you to the cabin?"

              "Yes," Tommy said, "but I wanted to give you directions, too. In case you lose sight of me. We'll turn right onto this highway and go four miles west. Take a dirt road marked by two brick columns. From there, it's about fifteen more minutes, past a mesa and some thick forest. Grace will probably be awake by the time we get there."

              "And mad," Katie said with a smile.

              "Very mad. But this is for her own good." Tommy's smile eased the lines of fatigue and worry in his thin face. His gaze searched Katie's. "I really tried to keep her out of it. She wouldn't listen."

              "I know how she is." Katie was past being angry with either of them; she just wanted them to come out of this safely.

              "I'm glad you're here," he said. "Maybe you can talk some sense into her, tell her to get on with her life and forget about me. I imagine I'm looking at more time, seeing as how I skipped out on my parole."

              She admitted to a flare of admiration. He really seemed to have Grace's best interests in mind. "We don't think your parole officer turned you in yet. A few days ago, we talked to him and he indicated that he'd let us have a chance to find you."

              "Really? That's great. He's a pretty nice guy."

              Rick stepped behind Katie, his body a solid shield at her back. He eyes the parking lot carefully before turning to Tommy. "Once we get Grace and make sure you two are somewhere safe, I'll call my uncle at the FBI. They've started building a case against Henderson with some evidence recovered from your computer."

              He explained about Carl and the information he'd turned over to Dwayne Powell.

              "Your guy must be good." Respect lit Tommy's eyes.

              "It took him a while," Rick said with a grin, "but he got it."

              He put a hand to the small of Katie's back, his touch warm and reassuring as the three of them walked toward Tommy's pickup.

              "Ready?" Rick asked.

              Tommy nodded and slid into his truck while she and Rick moved to the 'Vette.

              "Did you ever see the bald guy?"

              "No."

              She studied Rick, trying to determine if he were uneasy or nervous, but his black eyes revealed only caution.

              Twenty-five minutes later, after bumping and twisting along a rutted dirt road past cedars and pines and a pair of deer who skittered away at the sight of them, she and Rick pulled up behind Tommy's truck in front of a small, A-frame cabin.

              Tommy started up the pine steps. Katie followed with Rick, admiring the beauty of Grace's temporary home and inhaling the scent of pine on the cool air. Leave it to her sister to find a gorgeous spot to hide.

              The cabin was nestled in a lush grove of evergeen trees. Framed by a pale blue sky and sun-tipped branches, the picture was as inviting and perfect as a travel brochure. Birds chirped, and a slight breeze whistled through the trees. Since Katie had left Pueblo, the temperature had dropped slightly. Though still pleasant, it was cooler in the valley. She rubbed her arms, wishing she'd brought a light jacket to wear over her short-sleeved cotton shirt.

              Rick waited at the bottom of the steps for her. Five steps, carved from the same golden pine as the cabin, led to a wide deck. Sunlight glittered off two triangular windows situated on either side of the door. She and Rick started up the steps.

              "Whoa."

              The alarm in Tommy's voice had Katie's head coming up. He stood in the open doorway, his hands in the air.

              "Tommy!" a woman screamed. "They work for Henderson!"

             
Grace
! The voice jolted Katie. Before she could call out, Rick grabbed her wrist. She jerked toward him, stunned.
What was going on?

              He silenced her with one quick slash of his index finger.

              "Hey, man, don't shoot." Tommy stayed frozen in the doorway. "I don't  have a gun."

              A masculine voice murmured something, then Katie heard another unfamiliar male.

              "Run, Tommy!" Grace cried.

              Rick ducked under the stair rail, pulling Katie with him. She stumbled onto the ground beside him. Apprehension clogging her throat, she followed, her steps barely making a sound on the pine needles and grass, the tiny bits of gravel.

              Her brain tried to catch up to what her eyes had seen. Rick tugged her to the side of the cabin, put her behind him.

              For a moment, his hand flat against the curve of her hip to hold her to him, he listened.

              Trying to do the same, Katie pressed close against his back, but heard only the roar of her heartbeat in her ears. Sweat slicked her palms. She clutched a handful of Rick's T-shirt as her stomach dropped with a sickening thud. Henderson's men were here and they had Grace.

              His mind racing for a plan, Rick turned, took Katie's hand. It was cold in his. Her face was pale, her eyes wide with shock.

              "Katie," he whispered. "Look at me."

              She  focused on his eyes, and he squeezed her hand. "Good. Listen. We don't have much time. Tommy's trying to get them all out of the cabin, into the open. He told them the disks were in town."

              "Why?"

              "If he can get them outside, we have a chance to get to Grace."

              The shock disappeared from her eyes, and she gripped his hand. "What do we do?"

              He released her, pulled his gun from the small of his back. "I've got fifteen shots here. You have to help me."

              She nodded, still pale.

              "Get behind the cabin. Stay out of the line of fire."

              "But I want to help."

              "This is the best way. You're not armed. You can't protect yourself unless you stay covered. I'm going to try to get to Grace, send her your way."

              "Okay."

              He touched her cheek. "Are you all right?"

              "Yes, yes." Her eyes were dark with worry, but clear.

              He walked her to the back of the cabin. "No matter what, stay covered until this is over."

              Her hand tightened on his arm. "Be careful, Rick. Please."

              "I will. We've got plans after this, right?" He smiled at her.

              "Right."

              He allowed himself one hard kiss, then edged along the back of the cabin to the opposite corner. After one glance to make sure Katie was safely in place behind the cabin, he eased up the side, thumbing off the safety on his Magnum.

              He hoped Katie would do as he'd asked. If there was any chance of her being in the line of fire, he wouldn't be able to think of anything except her.

              He looked back once more. She was there, waved at him. Thank goodness, she was playing it smart. She'd stay out of sight.

              Putting all other thoughts out of his mind, he slipped silently to the front corner of the cabin. Tommy stood at the bottom of the steps, still talking.

              He had managed to get Henderson's goons and Grace outside. The two men, Baldy and a tall, skinny guy, matched the descriptions Rick had gotten after the murder of Billy Edwards. Skinny stood on the middle step, his gun trained on Tommy. On the top step, the bald guy held Grace in front of him like a shield, one arm hooked around her neck.

              The lush body and tight black outfit were classic Grace, but Rick had to look twice at the blond bob. He'd only ever seen her natural medium brown hair. She whimpered, her body pulled awkwardly into Baldy's.