Clay: Armed and Dangerous (19 page)

When Mrs. Karchner passed away, Rylie had been devastated. She still missed the old
woman. Her stomach clenched as she remembered the woman’s lilac perfume and the home’s
comforting smells of fresh-baked cookies and hot apple pie. Mrs. Karchner had been
more like a mom to Rylie than any of the number of wives her father had brought through
her own home. And her “real” mother ... well, it’d been years since Rylie had seen
her. She didn’t even know if the woman was alive any longer.

Chloe Somerville was in the front yard when Rylie drove up. The woman had on a pair
of work gloves, and she was pruning one of the weeping willow trees in the front yard,
right near a brand-spanking-new landscaped wooden wheelchair ramp. Out near the barn
in the backyard, Rylie saw David in his wheelchair playing with a golden retriever.

When Rylie climbed out of the truck, Chloe tossed the pruning shears onto the dead
grass at her feet. She shucked off her gloves, leaving them with the garden tool before
walking up to Rylie. A smile lit Chloe’s face until she got a good look at Rylie’s
expression.

“Levi?” Chloe’s hand went to her heart as if trying to calm it. “Did something happen
to him? Is he all right?”

Rylie shoved her hands in her front pockets. “He’s been arrested.”

“What?” Shock registered on the woman’s face, her palm going from her chest to her
mouth. “Why?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” Rylie explained what Clay had said when he’d
arrested Levi. “It sounds like the biggest thing they’ve got is a shitload of money
deposited into his account right around the time the truck thefts started, and coinciding
with the recent hits. They found ten grand in his safety deposit box, too.”

Chloe took a deep breath and pushed her black hair off her forehead with one hand.
“That ten thousand is perfectly legal. It’s a lump sum grant payment.” She gestured
toward the barn where David was laughing and doing wheelies in his wheelchair. “A
private organization provided the grant for my son to have extensive therapy to help
him rehabilitate after his spinal-cord injury, and I signed a contract with your brother
to work with David. I gave him the money up front because I know he’ll do the hours,
and I knew it would help you out at the ranch.”

Rylie tilted her head. “You hired my brother?”

“He’s been my son’s companion for a couple of months now, taking him on horseback
rides every afternoon.” The woman gave a quick smile. “Levi plans to start a full-time
therapeutic horseback program for kids with CP and spinal-cord injuries. He’s also
looking into a license for home modifications—that’s where the other money came from.
I paid it to him to buy supplies to remodel the house, and for his time and work.”

“And every evening...” Rylie let her voice trail off as she studied Chloe.

A flush stole over Chloe face. “When I get David settled down for the night, Levi
and I do spend time together.” She gestured with one hand toward Douglas. “Sometimes
my mother comes down from Bisbee to watch David while Levi and I go out.”

Okay, after she did away with Clay, Rylie was going to kill her big brother. Nothing
like keeping his entire life secret from his little sister. The jerk.

At Rylie’s frown, Chloe’s face fell. “You don’t approve, do you,” she said. A statement,
not a question.

“It’s not that.” Rylie shook her head. “I just don’t understand why he kept this all
secret from me.”

“Levi has a hard time opening up.” Chloe sighed and gave a wry smile. “He’s a hard
man to get anything out of, but once we reached a certain point in our relationship,
we both began sharing our dreams. It seemed to scare him a lot. I don’t think he planned
to be serious about anybody. Ever.”

Rylie felt like she’d been kicked in the gut.

That sounded familiar.

And, she was Levi’s sister, yet she’d never taken the time to find out if he had any
dreams beyond trying to make the ranch productive. She sighed. “All right. So Levi
has a secret life he didn’t bother to tell me about. But I guess I didn’t ask, either,
except to badger him when I got curious. Not exactly the way to get a man— especially
a stubborn big brother—to spill his secrets.”

Chloe pursed her lips, and then shook her head. “I’d better go call Mom to see if
she can watch David.” She scooped up the gloves and pruning shears. “I’ve got all
the grant paperwork for the ten thousand, and the contract and payment agreements,
and receipts for all the money I’ve ever given him. I even have the plans for the
riding program. I’ll take it all down to the county jail. And I’ve got to tell them
that he’s been with me until late, just about every single night, even on the nights
of the thefts.”

Rylie quirked a brow. “Sounds like the two of you had some fun.”

Chloe gave Rylie a smile. “We found whatever time and whatever place we could, to
be alone.”

“I understand,” Rylie said, and her belly clenched at the thought of Clay.
Or, at least I did until the man I thought I loved turned out to be an opportunistic
jackass.
“I’ve got something to check out, too. Something that might help Levi in case everything
you’re taking to Mr. High-and-Mighty Sheriff Wayland doesn’t do the trick. Tell Levi
to call me later—and if they don’t let him go after they see your papers, you leave
me a message.”

“I’ll do it.” Chloe said. Then she took off into the house to call her mother.

By the time Rylie arrived home, it was dark and she had everything worked out in her
mind. She knew exactly what she needed to do and how she’d go about it.

It’s not Reggie. That’s just my nerves talking.

Whoever was behind this, it was local boys, for sure: maybe not Guerrero’s bunch,
but people who knew the lay of the land.

Rylie prepared with single-minded determination, putting on her tennis shoes rather
than her boots. They’d be quieter and it would be easier to run if she had to. She
slipped her pocketknife into the front pocket of her jeans. She thought about taking
a gun, but she knew she couldn’t shoot another human being. Safer not to take a weapon
that might just be used against her. Chloe’s papers and proof might be enough to help
Levi, but then again, who knew if Clay Wayland and his band of brats would listen
to reason? As far as she was concerned, it was up to her to clear her brother’s name
and prove who the real culprits were.

The men she’d overheard at the MacKenna-Hunter barbeque were the best lead she had.
If she hadn’t been distracted by passion, then by fury, she might have thought to
tell Clay about it. Not that it would have mattered.

They had said they were planning to meet at twenty-one hundred hours Monday night.
That would be nine tonight. And it was at the same location where Levi had found their
fence cut once before, near Wade Larson’s water tower in his north pasture.

No wonder the son of a bitch she overheard knew Clay would be busy tonight. He’d known
Levi would be arrested, likely because he’d planted the “evidence” himself.

What about Wayland?

Ah, hell. He’s too busy chasing Thorn.

The bastards hadn’t been talking about Clay chasing Rylie, they’d been talking about
Clay following false leads on Levi. Who knew what other crap they’d been able to plant
to make her brother look guilty?

The men she overhead had to be the ones stealing the trucks. She was sure of it, and
somehow, she was going to prove it.

It was about eight o’clock when she. snatched up the cordless, prepared to call Clay.
She stopped just as she started to dial, and stared at the phone. Why should she call
him? He was the asshole who’d arrested her brother. After all, considering what happened
with Gary Woods last fall, Clay very well could be a part of the whole damn mess.
And look at how he’d used her. Taking her to bed to get information on Levi.

Even though her mind and heart wanted to reject that thought, right now she didn’t
feel like she could trust anyone.

The piercing sound of her cell phone bolted through Rylie and she almost dropped it.
Her heart pounded as she checked the display. Skylar’s number. Thank God.

Rylie pressed the
On
button and brought the cell phone to her ear. “What’s up?”

“I’ve been trying to call to see how you’re holding up.” Skylar paused, her voice
filled with concern. “And to check on how Levi’s doing.”

“I’m fine. And Levi... How good could he be doing when he’s in jail on bullshit charges?”
Rylie sighed and gripped the phone tighter. “Listen. I’m going to go check something
out. I think I know who has been stealing trucks.”

“What? Who?” Skylar’s voice rose. “You’re not about to go off and do anything dangerous,
are you?”

“I’m just going to take Sass out to Wade Larson’s north range, near his water tower.”
Rylie pushed her hand away from her face as she spoke. “I can go up around back on
Catwalk Trail. I’ll tether Sass to the trees and then get a little closer to see what’s
going on.”

“That’s too dangerous.” Skylar’s tone was firm. “Call the sheriff’s department.”

“No way.” Rylie knew that her friend was only concerned for her, but she couldn’t
help but feel the twist of anger in her gut. Clay. The bastard. The using son of a
bitch.

“I can’t go to the law,” Rylie continued. “Clay just backstabbed me—and remember Gary
Woods? It’s the sheriff’s department that I’m worried about. I’ll stay out of sight
and just get some information so that I have something to take to the authorities.
Something that Clay can’t ignore even if he wants to.”

“Dammit, Rylie, it’s way too dangerous,” Skylar insisted. Rylie could easily picture
her friend’s concerned expression. “Zack’s working late on a drug bust. He should
be home any moment and he can go.”

Rylie glanced up at the kitchen clock. “Won’t be soon enough. They’re meeting in about
fifty minutes. I’ve got just enough time to saddle up Sass and get over there and
find a good hiding place.”

“No.”

“I’ll call you when I get back.”

“Dammit, Rylie.”

“Bye.” Rylie tossed the cell phone on the counter and checked the clock again. She’d
better get her ass in gear and get out to Larson’s north range.

***

Clay rubbed his hand over his stubbled cheeks as he strode into his home and slammed
the door behind him. It had been one hell of a day, and it wasn’t over. He had just
about enough time to grab a sandwich, then head back to the station.

In his gut he knew Levi Thorn was innocent, but the setup had been good. Of course,
there was the large amount of cash deposited into Thorn’s account and hidden in his
safety deposit box, but he had a message from one Chloe Somerville on his voice mail,
stating she could prove she gave the funds to Thorn, and that she was on her way to
show him receipts and documents that would clear up that misunderstanding. Clay tossed
his Stetson on the back of a couch and strode toward the kitchen to fix himself a
ham and cheese. He’d better make it fast if he wanted to get back to the station before
Ms. Somerville arrived.

So, the money could be explained, but what about that damned ledger? No prints, stored
in plastic, created like its maker planned to use it down the road to throw suspicion
on somebody else. To save his own ass, maybe. Or it could be Thorn’s. Thorn had been
military, then law enforcement. He’d be smart enough not to leave prints on a damning
piece of evidence like that.

Clay blew out his breath in a hard rush as he grabbed sandwich makings out of the
fridge.

No way.

It wasn’t Thorn.

Clay was going with his gut on this one. As far as he was concerned, Levi Thorn had
been royally framed. Problem was, the list of people who could have pulled off getting
that ledger into the safety deposit box came down to exactly one, if he assumed that
none of the bank employees was involved.

Yeah, just one guy. Now Clay had to prove it. But first he needed to eat, to talk
to Chloe Somerville, and see about getting Levi to play along until he could get the
evidence he needed... and then go talk some sense into Rylie Thorn.

Just as Clay finished making his ham and cheese, the phone rang. He shoved the mayo
into the fridge while grabbing his cell phone from its holster on his belt and answered
it. “Wayland here.”

“Sheriff, this is Skylar MacKenna-Hunter.” The urgency in her voice told him something
was seriously wrong.

“What’s happened?”

“Nothing.
Yet.
It’s just that Rylie’s gone off and I’m afraid she’s going to get herself in some
trouble.”

Clay’s heart thudded at the thought of something happening to Rylie. “Details. Now.”

Skylar explained what Rylie had said, and the trail she was using to get there. “She
was in a rush. Something about getting to the water tower before nine so she could
find a good spot to hide.”

“The little idiot.” Clay clenched his jaw. “See if you can get Zack out there. I’ll
head out, but I won’t have any reliable local backup. Can’t go into details.”

“All right. Hurry, Clay.”

He punched off the cell phone and re-holstered it. He scooped up his sandwich, figuring
he could eat it on the way and knowing he needed the fuel to think clearly. He still
had on his utility belt, firearm, and bulletproof vest. After grabbing his hat, he
strode out the door.

Sassafras snorted as she walked slowly along Catwalk Trail behind Wade Larson’s fence
line. In the darkness, the Chiricahua Mountains loomed around them like dark sentinels,
and Rylie tried not to think about what Skylar had said to her, about this being too
dangerous.

Reggie...

Stop it.

But it was too late. Rylie felt chilled to the bone even though it wasn’t that cold.

She was here for Levi. She had to help her brother, because it was damned obvious
Clay Wayland was happy with his stupid arrest. He wouldn’t be out here looking for
the real thieves.