Lee Bonner was in a rage. There was no other word to describe his mood. The euphoric satisfaction he’d enjoyed after the meeting and the pleasure of good Cuban cigars had disappeared like smoke when he’d walked through the living room and found the receipt from the spa on the floor. He crumpled it in his hand with such a vicious move that his fingernails dug into his palm. The damning evidence was still frozen on the television screen so of course she’d seen it.
God damn that woman. Just fucking damn.
He strode into the kitchen to get a glass of water, something to cool down his temper.
“Lee?”
He looked up to see Jorge Balboa had followed him.
“Yeah?” Lee was doing his best to get his rage under control.
“Is something the matter?” The man frowned. “I thought we settled everything to our satisfaction.”
Lee frowned. “Not with the feds suddenly taking an interest in us. And how the fucking hell did that happen? We’ve been so careful. Operating the way we do is what’s made us so successful.”
Jorge frowned. “Possibly one of our new partners drew attention to himself?”
“That’s why I wanted this meeting, and why I gave you and Noble a heads up. I wanted to see if any of them would tip his hand.”
“Well, it hasn’t happened. Either they’re all very clever or truly innocent. In which case we still have a hole somewhere. And we only have two more key people to eliminate before the entire West is ours.”
“That’s going to be a touchy situation.” Lee took another moment to gather himself. “I just have a small problem that needs attending to. Give me a moment, and we’ll be all set.”
“Is this a private meeting?” Noble Strickland joined them in the living room.
Lee shook his head. “No. Not at all. Jorge just came to check on me.”
Noble frowned. “Problem?”
“Only needed a break from trying to figure out if any of our newer partners is a mole.”
Better to focus on that than to mention Alix and what she’d seen.
Noble looked at each of them in turn. “You think they could be responsible for this sudden interest in us?”
Jorge shrugged. “It’s a possibility.”
Noble shook his head. “We vetted them from top to bottom. If there’s a plant there, he’s damn fucking good at it.”
“That’s the truth,” Jorge growled then glanced at Lee. “It has taken us a long time to get to this point, mi amigo. A lot of sweat—ours—and a lot of blood—theirs. Only a bit longer and all our competition will be out of circulation, as they say. Provided we are still able to enjoy it.”
Lee had to agree with them. It still amazed him how the three of them had come together at a bar in Helena on a night they just happened to all be there at the same time. They’d known each other already, through business. Lee transported goods for the other two in his commercial trucks. They were doing okay, all of them still a little rough around the edges but working their way up in the world.
The television over the bar that night had been on, showing a news report on the breakup of a drug-and-gun smuggling ring and the arrest of the leaders.
“That’s because they’re fucking stupid,” Noble commented as he took a swallow of beer. “You need a real businessman to run these things. And run it like a real business.”
Jorge laughed. “I suppose you’d do it a lot better.”
“Damn straight. You have to know who to pay off, who to contact, and how to make it appear respectable.” He studied his two friends. “Shit. If I had someone besides myself to count on, I’d put it together and make it work. Why should other people make all that money?”
They might have been joking around at the time, but their new partnership was born of that conversation. They’d taken a year to set everything up, including the network of distributors, the “clients” who wanted large quantities of drugs and guns transported, and the places to house the females until they were auctioned off. They even began to add what Lee liked to call “spare change,” picking up people smuggled over the border from Canada and transporting them to their destinations.
Now, five years later, they had brought in other people with the right connections and created an operation that ran smooth as silk. Guns, drugs, women, young girls, whatever the buyers wanted, the three of them procured it, and Lee transported it in his vast network of trucks.
The business was lucrative beyond his wildest imagination. As the money flowed in and he expanded his legitimate business, he shed his roughneck image as did the others, and smoothed out the edges. They had all married women who fit their new positions of wealth. Women who legitimized their images. Lee had been the last one to marry, mostly because he hadn’t found a woman he could live with. Jorge and Noble put the pressure on at about the same time Alix walked into his life. Talk about a lucky happenstance.
He’d had the feeling lately, however, that his performance as a loving, attentive husband might have been slipping. Alix—even the name fit the image—showed signs of irritation at his many absences and lack of attention. He’d planned to do something about that, right after this meeting to celebrate their newest level of success and plan their next moves.
This slip of paper blew that out of the water. He had to take care of the situation in a hurry. If the men he was meeting with knew his wife had up and left him, disappeared, he’d be in a shitload of trouble. If he couldn’t handle one woman, what did that say about his ability to handle the logistics of their business?
He turned to Jorge.
“I just need a few minutes to make a couple of calls. Then I’ll arrange for food and drink. Can you do me a favor? Pour everyone some more of that good brandy and toast our new ventures while I handle a couple of things.”
They had slowly added three more men to their very tight group, a lucky move since they arranged for most of the muscle their enterprise needed.
“Of course. If you need anything…” He let the words drift off.
“No, no. Thanks, anyway. I’ll be finished in just a few minutes.”
As soon as the other man left the room, Lee called the spa where Alix had supposedly been staying for the weekend.
“Yeah, hi, this is Lee Bonner. I’m just checking on my wife. She said she might be coming home early, so I wanted to see if she’d left and what time.”
“Oh, yes, Mr. Bonner.” The woman who answered spoke in what Lee assumed was her customer-oriented voice. “Let me just check. Yes, here it is. She left at one o’clock. And she did mention she was heading home. I’m surprised she isn’t there already.”
Fuck. No, double fuck.
“Probably ran into some traffic. Or maybe stopped in Eagle Rock for something. Thanks so much.”
It was all he could do not to bang the phone on the counter. Fucking bitch. Why had she decided to leave early? Had something happened at the spa? Was it something he’d done? What could he have said or done to trigger this? His gut clenched as he realized she must have seen the image on the television screen. He hadn’t bothered to shut off the DVD player since there was no one there but the six of them. Or, so he’d thought.
He needed to check the security cameras, but the laptop was in his den, and he sure didn’t want to do it in front of these men. Too many questions he couldn’t answer. Instead, he dialed the number for Frank Devol, who lived in a small house in back of the main one. He and Frank had a long history, although not all of it was pleasant. But because of their history, he was the only person Lee trusted to do what he did—take care of maintenance on the house, keep tabs on Alix, and do whatever cleanup work he needed, not all of it physical labor.
On days like today, when the housekeeper had been given the day off, he also served as chief cook and bottle washer. Normally, he’d be sending him out to fire up the grill and get the food ready, but he had another more important errand.
Frank answered on the first ring. “What’s up, boss? Ready for me to play cook and waiter?”
“Later. I have a more pressing matter at the moment. Check the security system and see if anyone came to the house today besides my group here. And when.”
Frank had a laptop hooked up in his place that also captured the camera feeds.
“Problem?” Frank asked.
“We’ll find out as soon as you check the feed.
“Okay. Hold on.”
Lee tapped his fingers on the counter while he waited, anger continuing to build inside him. Frank was back in less than two minutes.
“Lee?
“Yeah. What do you see?”
“Nothing until four o’clock. Alix drove up to the house and went inside for ten minutes. Then she came out again and left. I thought she was gone for the weekend.”
“She was supposed to be,” he growled. “Listen, I can’t leave so I need you to do something for me. Take that gizmo that tracks the GPS in her car and see where she’s gotten off to. Call me the very second as you find out anything.”
“What about dinner? These guys won’t be happy if they have to go hungry.”
“I can still grill a fucking steak and pour drinks. This is more important. Get moving. Now.”
Lee had all he could do to keep his shit together when he went back into the den and handed out another round of cigars. He was not going to let these men know the situation with Alix. They would not be happy with his inability to control his own woman the way they did theirs.
“Problems?” Noble asked.
Not that I’d be telling you about.
“No. I just had to send Frank on a little errand. But no problem. When we get hungry, I can still grill a mean steak. Now. Where were we?”
He forced himself to participate in the conversation, even as his mind whirled with the possible repercussions of this situation. He was almost at the end of his rope when his cell phone dinged. He scanned the readout.
Frank.
“Excuse me, gentlemen. I’ll be right back. Then we’ll see about dinner.” As soon as he was in the kitchen he answered the call. “Tell me some good news.”
“I wish I could. The GPS showed the car at Reggie’s garage in Eagle Rock, but he couldn’t tell me a thing. Said someone had called him to tow the thing to his garage and that’s all he knew. He was pretty pissed, too, because he’s got no one to bill.”
“Do you think I care if Reggie gets paid?” Lee snapped. “What about Alix?”
“Nada. No one knows nothing from nothing about her. Haven’t seen her. Don’t know where she is.”
“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Lee wanted to throw the phone across the room. “She’s got to be there somewhere. I monitor her calls. I’ll get the company to pull the records. She has to have contacted someone. But you keep trying to find it. No, wait. Don’t try. Do it. Don’t come back until you know where she is. And get her.”
“Ten four.”
Before he returned to the den, Lee called their cell carrier to request the records for Alix’s number. Since he paid for the damn phone, he had no problem, but they said it would take a while. Then, taking a deep breath, he headed back to the den. He just hoped none of the wives called their husbands and gave them the news Alix had taken a powder. He didn’t want to be caught with no explanation.
Goddamn that woman. When he got his hands on her, she’d be damn sorry she’d pulled a stunt like this.
*****
Alix had no idea where Hank was taking her. And, in fact, she wasn’t sure she cared. From the moment she laid eyes on him, even though at first she didn’t know if Lee had sent him, there was something so solid, so safe about him. And so undeniably sexy. Okay, what the hell was she doing thinking about sex in the middle of this terrible mess?
He was nothing like any of the other men she’d dated, and maybe that was a plus. Because all the Mr. Smooths had given her nothing but grief and, now, danger to her life. The play of muscles beneath the fabric of his jeans and shirt, the flex of muscle in his arms as he drove, made her wonder what it would feel like to have those arms around her. To feel those legs against her body.
For god’s sake, Alix. Get your mind back to where it belongs. Making you safe.
They had dropped off the keys to her car at the garage and now had come to a ranch with a gated entrance proclaiming it White Oak Ranch. Hank rolled down the window and reached out to punch numbers into a security lock. The gates swung open, and they proceeded down a long driveway. They followed it up to what, at first glance, had the appearance of a brand new house.
“Where have you brought me?” she asked, reluctant to get out of the SUV when he parked. She suddenly realized how little she knew about him, just that he’d been a lifeline and she’d grabbed it.
“My boss, Hank Patterson, and his wife Sophie live here.”
She stared at him. “You brought me to somebody’s house?”
“It’s where the Brotherhood Protectors headquarters is, and they’re expecting us. Come on.” He held out his hand.
Alix hesitated for a moment. Then she remembered her own house and what she had seen paused on the television screen. Still wondering if she was making a huge mistake, but knowing she couldn’t go back, she took his hand and let him lead her up to the house and a door at the side. They stopped so Charlie could open the covering to a small metal unit of some kind built into the wall and press his eye to it. It clicked, he turned the knob on the door, and it swung open.
A retinal scan? What kind of place is this?
Maybe she’d made a bad decision calling him to come back, but she didn’t have a better alternative.
They stepped into a darkened vestibule and descended a flight of stairs that lit up as they stepped on each tread. She figured she was either walking into something worse than she’d run away from or a place where there were people who could help her. Her day certainly couldn’t get much crazier.
And then they were in the office proper of Brotherhood Protectors. The room was dark but light flowed out from behind a slightly open door in one wall.
“Be with you in a minute, Zero,” a voice called from where the light spilled out.
“No sweat,” Charlie answered.
“How did he know you were here?” Alix asked. “And that it was you?” Then she smacked her forehead. “Of course. The retinal scan.”
“One of the best safety measures we’ve got,” Charlie told her.
“Why did he call you Zero? Your card says Charles Zalman.”
“In the SEAls, my code name was Zero. People still call me that or Charlie Zero.
Alix wanted to tell him he was far from a zero in her book, but she just kept her mouth shut. Especially since she’d only known him for less than an hour. She wondered what his boss and the other men were like. Were they all rough around the edges like Charlie? More so? Less? And how would they react to her being brought here like this? The tall, lean man who came toward them looked as if he bit nails for breakfast. But then he smiled, and his entire appearance changed.
“Hank Patterson,” he told her as he held out his hand.
“Alix Bonner.” His hand was strong, with roughened skin. She wondered if Charlie’s felt like that. “I’m sorry Charlie dragged me here like this, but…”
“No problem. He called. This is what we’re here for.” He waved at a chair. “Why don’t you sit down, catch your breath, and give us a hint what this is all about?”
She glanced at Charlie, hovering next to her.
“It’s all good. Whatever it is, you can trust these guys.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “You trusted me, right?”
Alix wanted to tell him she’d been in such a panic she didn’t think she had any choice. If Lee didn’t come after her himself, he’d be sure to send Frank, and that was almost as bad.
On the drive here, she’d been fascinated by the body of the man sitting next to her—his muscles, his obvious strength. But now, she took her first good look at the man called Charlie Zero. Tall, like Hank Patterson, probably six feet, but leaner, his fit body outlined by his black T-shirt.
This man had lived a hard life, evidenced by the scars on his left arm and a thin one running from just beneath his left eye to his jaw. Most of it could barely be seen as it disappeared into the scruff, and instead of being off-putting, it added to his very masculine aura. There was nothing soft about him. She wondered how those muscles would feel beneath her palms, and if—
Ohmigod! I’m losing my mind. How can I be even thinking such thoughts when I’m married and my husband seems to be a vicious killer? And I’m scared to death? Right?
It had to be a reaction to the stress of the day. That’s all it was. Right?
“Alix?” Charlie’s voice was a soft nudge.
She gave herself a mental poke then scrubbed her face with hands that still trembled. “I’m so sorry. Everything today has just been such a shock.”
Hank pulled a chair over so he sat across from her, and curved his mouth in another smile.
“How about some coffee, Alix? Then maybe you can tell us what’s got you whiter than a ghost.” His words were polite, even friendly, but she sensed something beneath them. What was going on here?
Alix twisted her hands together. “No, thanks. I don’t need anything to make me more jittery.”
She noticed Charlie did not take a chair. Instead, he stood behind her, hands on the back of her chair as if by his presence to make her feel more secure. Right. She wondered if she’d ever feel secure again.
“This is going to sound weird,” she began.
Hank laughed. “You would not believe the stuff we’ve seen and heard. Weird is our specialty. So go on. Let’s have it.”
“Okay. My husband is—at least I think he is—in the trucking business. Bonner Transport. Maybe you’ve heard of it?”
Something strange whisked across Hank’s face, so brief that Alix wasn’t even sure she saw it before it was gone. Then he nodded.
“I have. It’s a pretty big outfit.”
“Yes. It is.” She swallowed and did her best to settle her nerves. It surprised her that Charlie’s presence behind her was a calming factor. “Well, we’ve, uh, been having a few problems lately. Lee and I, that is. I think there’s something going on with the business, and it’s affecting our relationship. Although it certainly can’t be money.” She blew out a breath. “Anyway, I was supposed to be at a spa all weekend, but I decided to leave a day early. I thought I’d come home and try to talk to him about whatever was wrong.”
“And how did that go?” Hank asked. “I’m guessing not well, if you’re here instead of there.”
“Yes.” She could do this. She wasn’t a blithering idiot, although she was sure anyone would be if they’d seen what she did. She couldn’t get it out of her head. “My husband was in his den—he calls it his cigar room—with a group of men. The door was closed, but I could hear voices. But they must have been in the living room before because this was on the television screen.”
She pulled out her phone, hand trembling again as she brought up the photo she’d taken. Then she gave the cell to Hank. Charlie shifted his chair so he could see it, too.
“Jesus Fucking Christ,” Charlie breathed.
“Amen to that,” Hank agreed.
They both stared at it for a long moment.
“D-do you know any of these people in the picture?” she asked. And if they did, what did that mean for her?
Hank nodded. “I do. Charlie, I believe you know some of them, also.”
“Yes.” Now he pulled over a chair so he could sit next to her, touching her arm in a reassuring gesture. “Alix, how did you say you got this?”
She had to swallow twice before she could get the words out. “I told you. When I walked into my house earlier, it was on the television screen. I’m guessing it was from a DVD because the player’s light was on.”
She watched Hank and Charlie exchange glances.
“Did your husband know you’d be coming home?” Charlie wanted to know.
Alix shook her head. “He thought I’d be away at the spa until tomorrow. He didn’t know I’d come home early. Like I said, he was—” She took a breath. “He was in his den with some other men. I’m assuming they belonged to all the strange cars parked in front of our house.”
“You didn’t think that was weird when you drove up? Seeing them, I mean?”
“Yes, but I figured maybe he’d decided to have his meetings at home.”
“Do you know who these people are?” Hank’s voice was friendly enough, but Alix had the feeling she was being given some kind of test.
She just shook her head. “I hadn’t expected him to be there. His meetings are usually someplace else. And of course, he has to travel for the business. My plan when I got home was to call him and ask him to come home early so we could have some of the weekend together.”
Charlie shifted his gaze back to Hank again. “What’s going on here?”
“Just getting things straight,” Hank assured him.
“About what? Did you find out anything from the license plate I texted you?”
Hank nodded and leaned forward in his chair, elbows resting on his knees. “Alix, in our line of work we’ve learned to check everything. The plate came back registered to Bonner Transport, so I’m going to assume the owner, Lee Bonner, is your husband?”
“Yes.” Alix twisted her hands together in her lap so tight she wondered if her fingers would break. Something was off here, but she didn’t know what, only that it had to do with what she’d seen on the television screen. “What’s wrong? What does my license plate have to do with the picture I showed you?”
Hank exchanged another look with Charlie.
“This may sound a little odd, but did you know Charlie would be driving home on that road?”
Despite the fear gripping her, anger surged through her at the question. “What? What are you asking? I don’t understand. You think I deliberately broke down so he’d have to stop?” She studied Charlie. “Get me out of here. Take me into Eagle Rock. I’ll find someplace to stay. I’ll sleep in Reggie’s garage if I have to. In my car. If you have some crazy idea—”
“What the hell is going on here?” Charlie interrupted. “If you trust my judgment, then believe me when I tell you that wasn’t a setup. I’d smell one a mile away.”
Hank inclined his head. “Understood. I still had to ask. And her reaction assured me more than your words that it wasn’t the case.” He turned to Alix and touched her shoulder, urging her back into the chair. “Sit. I’m sorry, but it was important to get that straight. You’ll understand why in a minute.”
“Exactly what will I understand? Because that question you just asked is so farfetched that—”
“I have some things to tell you that you aren’t going to want to hear,” Hank interrupted. “Charlie isn’t aware of this because it all came in while he was still out on assignment.”
God. This is just getting worse and worse. How did I ever get myself into this situation?
Because she didn’t think, didn’t learn more about the man who blew into her life like a hurricane, didn’t check things out. She wasn’t a stupid person. Not a ninny who gave in to impulses. Except this one time. Now, she was paying for it.
“Let’s have it,” Charlie growled.
Hank’s gaze was so penetrating she thought he might be trying to read inside her brain.
“How long have you known Lee Bonner?”
“Four months, why?”
“So you only knew him a month before you married him?” He raked his hand through his hair. “Sorry. Just trying to get a timeline here.”
She bit her lip, realizing how this must sound to them. She wasn’t some bimbo who got swept off her feet into a glamorous marriage with a hot guy. Well, okay, the bimbo part was wrong. “Please, tell me what this is about. You’re scaring me.”
And after what I saw at the house, making me more scared isn’t that easy.
“I don’t know any other way to say this except in plain English. Lee Bonner is under federal investigation for trafficking in guns, drugs, and women.”
Alix was afraid she might faint. This couldn’t be true. It just couldn’t. Someone as smart as she thought she was would never get hooked up with anyone like that. And yet, in her haste to leave Houston, it seemed that was just what she might have done.
She gripped the arms of her chair. “How do you know this? Maybe you’re making a mistake.”
Yet, deep down inside, she knew he wasn’t. It would certainly explain the direction their personal relationship was headed, and why it seemed to have evaporated.
“No mistake,” Hank told her. “Your husband is in a deep pile of shit.”