Chapter Fourteen
It was Thursday morning. Carly sat across from Linc at the round oak breakfast table in his sunny kitchen, both of them drinking coffee as if they were just a normal couple on any normal morning.
As if time weren’t ticking away, danger pressing in from all sides, getting closer by the minute.
Through the window, beyond a small courtyard with a fountain in the middle, she could see horses playfully running through a grassy pasture. It was so peaceful here. No wonder Linc loved it.
After their conversation with the Grangers yesterday, they’d had supper at an elegant but quiet Dallas restaurant called the Abbey, then they’d returned to the ranch, and Linc had taken her straight to bed. The man was practically insatiable and when she was with him, so was she.
Now it was morning and they both had things to do. She needed to go into her office. She’d been working on her laptop, getting a few things done, but she needed to pay bills and appease creditors, which meant she needed the loan Linc had promised her.
Damn, she hated to bring it up. Having just climbed out of his bed, it felt a little like selling herself.
“What’s troubling that mind of yours this morning?” he asked. “I can almost see your brain spinning around.”
Carly sighed. “I’ve got to go into work. I’ve missed too much time this week already. You said my pickup’s in one of the garages. You wouldn’t have to drive me.”
Linc took a sip of the rich, freshly brewed dark coffee, and set his mug back down on the table. An empty plate that had held a toasted bagel, bacon, and some scrambled eggs sat next to it, along with an empty glass of orange juice.
“I had a feeling you were thinking about that loan I promised you,” he said. “You’ll find the paperwork at your office when you get there. Sign the documents, and the check will be deposited into whatever account you want this afternoon.”
How did he do that? Practically read her mind. Or maybe it was her face. She’d bet he was great at poker.
“You’ll pay it back,” he said, still tuned in to her thoughts. “Just keep doing what you have been and it’ll all come together.”
“I hope you’re right.” Dressed in stretch jeans and a crisp white cotton blouse, she grabbed her purse off the counter. “I’ve got to get going. If you could just open the garage door so I could get my—”
“Your truck should show up out front any minute.”
Carly flicked him a glance. Slinging the strap of her purse over her shoulder, she started walking. Linc came up behind her as she stepped into the entry and pulled open the door.
“There’s someone in the passenger seat,” she said. “What’s going on?”
“That’s good ol’ Frank. Ross says he’s very good at his job. Says he was having an off night the evening of your little run-in at the Stop and Shop. I don’t think he’ll let his guard down again.”
“What, he’s my bodyguard?”
“You haven’t forgotten our deal? I told you I’d insist on personal protection. I wasn’t talking about condoms.”
If she wasn’t semi-pissed, she would have laughed. “What’s he going to do all day while I’m working?”
“His job. Which is making sure no one tries to abduct you again or shoot you.”
Her shoulders slumped. Hard to argue with that. “All right, fine. I’ll take good ol’ Frank with me.” She started for the door.
“There’s one more thing.”
She turned back. “What’s that?”
“You forgot to kiss me good-bye.”
Her eyes widened. “Seriously?”
His sexy mouth edged up. “Seriously.”
Something melted inside her. She walked back to him, went up on her toes, and pressed a soft kiss on his lips. “Bye, Linc.”
When she started to turn and leave, he hauled her back into his arms and took the kiss to a whole different level. “I’ll pick you up around lunchtime and we’ll go see Conchita.”
Ignoring a flare of heat, Carly headed for the truck. “Sounds good,” she called over her shoulder, then climbed in behind the wheel and slammed the door.
“I want to apologize for the other night,” Frank said from the other side of the vehicle. “To tell you the truth, I underestimated you and the situation. It won’t happen again.”
“Good to know.”
She drove down the dirt road toward the main house, noticed a pair of men wearing camouflage and tactical vests riding ATVs.
Carly slowed. “What’s going on?”
“Mr. Cain isn’t taking any chances. Until we know more about the situation, he’s got security set up around the main house and the ranch house.”
“The situation with El Jefe?” Ross Townsend knew about the drug lord. He and Frank Marino had been there the night she’d been abducted.
“Him, or that bunch of fanatics lined up at the gate yesterday morning.”
She blew out a breath. It seemed as if trouble was all around them. “I guess it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
“Exactly,” Frank said. He was wearing a shoulder holster under a lightweight jacket, letting her drive so he could be ready for trouble if it came.
Any day she expected to hear from El Jefe. They needed to figure things out and they needed to do it soon.
* * *
Linc arrived to pick up Carly at eleven-thirty that morning. She looked frustrated and frazzled, the phone stuck to her ear as she talked to customers and tried to sort out problems.
She shoved the signed loan papers toward him. Linc picked them up, stuffed them into his briefcase, and flipped the latches. He phoned his people and had the money transferred into the Drake Trucking account at the Iron Springs Credit Union.
Carly hung up the phone and leaned back in her chair. “I told him the check was going in the mail today. I don’t think he believed me.”
“He’ll believe you when he gets the check. Money’s being transferred as we speak. You ready to go?”
She stood up from behind her desk, grabbed her purse, and slung the strap over her shoulder. Linc held the door for her and she walked out into the main office, where she paused to speak to Donna.
“Ever ything’s set,” Carly said. “I’ll need those checks ready for my signature when I get back.”
“No problem,” Donna said with a smile. “I’ll put them on your desk.”
Linc escorted Carly out of the building, passing Frank as he led her to his truck. “Take a break and get some lunch,” Linc said. “We’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
“Yes, sir.”
They climbed into the GMC and left Drake Trucking, drove down the highway to the address at the other end of town where Conchita Hernandez lived with her three kids.
“She has to know about the deposits,” Carly said. “Twenty thousand dollars shows up in your checking account, you’re bound to notice.”
“Yeah, and you’re probably going to ask your husband where the hell the money came from.”
Linc pulled up in front of a small yellow house with a clapboard front and brown metal roof. Both of them got out and started up the front walk. Linc rapped lightly on the door. The kids would be at school this time of day, but he’d called ahead, so Conchita was expecting them.
The woman opened the door and stepped back, inviting them into the living room. “Please come in.”
She was petite, late twenties, with glossy black hair pulled into a single long braid. Linc figured under different circumstances, Carly would have hugged her, but too much intrigue swirled around them. No way to know whom to trust.
“How are the boys and your little girl?” Carly asked.
“They miss their father.” Conchita led them farther into the living room, which looked very Latin, with a colorful serape draped over the sofa and a statue of the Virgin Mary in an alcove at the end of the hall.
“Please sit down,” Conchita said. “Would you like something to drink? Some coffee or a soda?”
“Nothing, thank you.” Linc urged Carly toward the sofa and both of them sat down.
Conchita sat in a chair across from them. “You said you wished to see me. What is this about?”
“The sheriff’s still trying to find the man or men who killed your husband,” Linc said. “We’re trying to help him. A couple of days ago, something turned up we need to ask you about.”
“Sí, what is it?”
“Apparently you and your husband recently came into a good sum of money. Twenty thousand dollars. The deposit into your bank account was made in cash. In order to clear things up, we need to know where that money came from.”
Eyes wide, Conchita straightened. The hands she gripped in her lap began to tremble. She moistened her lips. “I-I told him not to take it. I told Miguel it was wrong, but he wouldn’t listen.” A sob slipped from her throat.
“Just take your time,” Linc said.
“Miguel, he was afraid for our daughter. Our . . . our little Angelina . . . she is sick with the asthma. There was a doctor who could help but he wanted money. Miguel was frantic. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn’t . . . couldn’t stand to see his little girl suffer.”
Conchita bent her head and sobbed against the arm of the chair. Carly walked over and crouched beside her. “We all do things we regret,” she said, reminding Linc of words he’d once said. “Miguel was trying to do what was best for his family.”
Conchita raised her head. “I will find a way to pay the money back. My children need me. I cannot go to prison. Please, I am begging you. Tell the sheriff I will find a way.”
Linc was good at reading people. No way was this woman involved. “It’s all right, Conchita. You don’t have to worry about the money. We just need to know who gave it to Miguel and what they expected him to do in return.”
Conchita wiped tears from her cheeks. “I do not know, Señor Cain.” She swallowed. “Miguel would not tell me. He said it was better if I did not know.”
Linc sat back on the sofa. He figured it was the truth. Latino males didn’t like to involve their wives in business.
“So you don’t have any idea what he was being paid to do?” Carly asked.
Conchita just shook her head. She glanced up. “Do you think that was the reason he was murdered? Maybe he was paid to do something but he changed his mind. Maybe that is why they killed him.”
Linc glanced over at Carly, whose eyes met his. “It’s possible,” he said. “Joe Drake trusted your husband. If Miguel had agreed to help the hijackers in exchange for the money, he might have had second thoughts.”
Fresh tears rolled down Conchita’s face. “He was a good man. A good husband and father. He never did anything bad, not until this.”
Linc stood up and Carly joined him. “I know some people who might be able to help your daughter,” Linc said. Pulling a business card out of his wallet, he jotted down a number.
“Tell the woman who answers I told you to call. She’ll make sure Angelina gets whatever treatment she needs.”
“You are not calling the sheriff ?”
“No. Just take care of your family.”
Conchita grabbed his hand and kissed the back, knelt on the floor at his feet. “God bless you, Señor Cain. I will never forget your kindness.”
Linc just nodded. Uncomfortable, he withdrew his hand and turned to Carly. “Let’s go.”
A few minutes later, they were back in the truck and heading down the highway toward the office.
“That was a nice thing you did back there.”
He shrugged. “Probably drug money. No need for her to pay it back.”
“You’re helping her daughter. You didn’t have to do that.”
“I support a lot of different charities. They owe me a favor or two.”
Carly just smiled. “You know, I’m actually starting to like you—besides just in bed.”
Linc laughed. He liked her, too. Probably too much.
“We didn’t get any new information,” she said, her saucy smile fading.
“No, we didn’t. The cargo manifest might give us something. Or maybe Townsend’s come up with a lead. I’ll call him when we get back to the yard.”
“Maybe the sheriff will find fingerprints in my house.”
“Could be. At the moment, anything would be useful.” He glanced over, tried not to let his gaze slide down to the soft mounds barely visible at the top of her white cotton blouse. “How about some lunch? I’m starving.”
She gave him a look.
“What?” he said.
“From the fit of your jeans, I know what you’re hungry for.”
No point in denying it. He chuckled. “Too bad we both have to work. Which reminds me I have to make a quick trip to my office late this afternoon. I’m taking you with me.”
“I’m not dressed for a trip to the city.”
“They’ve seen you all dressed up. I’m not changing, and those sexy jeans look just fine.”
She smiled but shook her head. “I really have too much to do.”
“Humor me.”
Carly sighed. “I take it back. I really don’t like you at all—except in bed.”
Linc laughed, signaled, and pulled the truck into the drive-thru at Burger King.