Her Heart-Stealing Cowboys [Hellfire Ranch 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (25 page)

“He was a marine,” Alcott said.

She nodded. “Yes, I knew that.”

“Boone Shepherd is the one who called you in, right?”

“Hm.”

“So you’ve known him for a long time? Agent Shepherd, I mean.”

Rebecca sipped again.

“You went to college together in Boston?”

She turned on him slowly. “Mr. Alcott, I’m attorney. A
defense
attorney. You are not going to get anything out of me with banal conversation and sly questions. Slips of the tongue are causes for dismissal of cases in my world. I don’t make those kinds of mistakes.” She turned back to the silent but grinning Clint. “How much for the soda?”

He waved his big hand. “On the house, ma’am. Consider it a thanks for taking care of the sheriff.”

Rebecca shook her head. “No, definitely not.” She slanted her eyes toward Alcott and hoped Clint understood the movement. “There can be no improprieties regarding this case, Clint. Taking favors, even something as small as a free soda, could be considered a bribe to an official.”

His eyes widened and his shoulders bunched. “Which would get the sheriff in trouble, huh?”

“Yes.”

He sighed. “Okay, that will be three dollars and twenty-two cents.”

She dug out the correct amount of cash then added a two dollar tip. She handed them to Clint then waited for her receipt, which she carefully tucked into her wallet. She made sure the reporter saw her every movement. He wouldn’t be given the chance to hint at anything out of bounds.

“Thank you, Miss Lyons,” Clint said.

She picked up her bag and purse as she slid from the stool. “My pleasure, Clint. I will definitely be back to try the chocolate. Or maybe the caramel. There are at least a dozen combinations I have to try.” She laughed. “I’m afraid I’m going to leave Freedom as big as a barn.”

Clint’s gaze was appreciative but respectful. “I doubt that.”

She waved as she headed for the door. Donald Alcott reached it a second ahead of her. He pushed it open and leaned in the doorway and waved her through.

“After you.”

“Thanks,” she murmured.

The Walgreens was on the corner of the Hex across from Clint’s Soda Fountain. She ignored Alcott and headed for the drug store.

“So, you’re not the least bit curious about his past?”

“Nope. Don’t you have somewhere else to be? Shouldn’t you be preparing for a deadline or something?”

“I am,” he said. Then he swooped in front of her.

Rebecca had to slam to a quick stop or risk running into him. “Move,” she said.

“Look, five minutes of your time is all I want.”

“I told you, Mr. Alcott. I don’t blab and I won’t be tripped up.” She scooted around him. “Go talk to the sheriff if you’re in such a big hurry. What can’t wait until tomorrow?”

He cursed. She looked over her shoulder and sighed in relief. He was glaring but not following her.

She bolted inside the pharmacy. Alcott didn’t enter the store.

The place didn’t hold as much allure for her as the soda fountain had. It was bright, clean, and thoroughly modern. She felt a little deflated. The storefront could have been any pharmacy in any city. A teenager stood behind the metal counter. He had black hair with a streak of blue that fell over his pimpled forehead. Piercings erupted from his forehead, nose, and beneath his chin. He didn’t look up from his cell phone as she wandered in.

That suited her just fine. She was in no mood to talk right now. Something salty and really bad for her was what she needed, despite the luscious shake she’d just indulged in. She headed for the back, where a wire rack of chips and pretzels gleamed. Deciding between the bag of barbecue chips and mustard pretzel rods was killing her and she finally grabbed both. As she headed for the counter she saw a display of T-shirts. She’d picked up the warmer for Tag. It felt churlish not to get something for Wade, too. The T-shirt which caught her eye was black with a computer screen on it. Written on the screen was
Make my Day
followed by a string of ones and zeroes that made no sense to her. The tag read
Make My Day (Kiss Me)
. Hopefully, that’s what it really said. She had a feeling Wade would get it instantly.

She picked up a large and headed for the counter.

The bored teen barely looked up from his phone as he scanned the chips, pretzels, and shirt then bagged it up. She swiped her credit card through the reader. Just as she was signing her name, another curl of unease hit her. She looked up but the kid was still tapping away at his phone. She glanced over her shoulder through the small store.

There was no one else inside. The sun still shone brightly outside and no shadows passed by the windows.

“The pin pad is waiting for you,” the teen said. He sounded as bored as he looked.

She shook off the unease and signed her name.

“Thanks.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

Rebecca grabbed her bag and hustled out the door. The street was filled with cars and the sidewalk held a few evening shoppers. No one looked sideways at her but they all seemed to smile as she hurried past. It was definitely time to head back to the sheriff’s office.

Her phone buzzed and she pulled it out. She gaped at the long list of messages. Drawing to a stop, she planted herself against the brick of a building and scrolled through them. Tag, Wade, and Boone had all sent her a few texts ordering her back to the office.

But it was the last one that caused her breath to hitch.

Even Texas isn’t big enough to hide you.

Rebecca looked wildly around. Of course she didn’t see anything or anyone suspicious. What stalker stood on the street corner and hollered “Yoo-hoo”?

She shoved her phone back into her purse and took off at a sprint toward the sheriff’s office, where Tag and Wade waited for her.

Just the idea they were there made her feel more secure. She slowed her pace then gasped as a large figure lurched out from a dim alleyway.

He caught her by the shoulders and she hauled back to punch him. She got one solid smack on his eye.

Pain exploded in her fingers and she figured she’d broken one.

“Damn it,” Donald Alcott howled as he released her. “I was trying to stop you from falling.”

Rebecca groaned and closed her eyes as the taste of fear ebbed from her mouth. “You idiot,” she shouted. “What the hell?”

Alcott probed at the reddened area around his eye and glared. “Why’d you hit me?”

“You grabbed me. What else was I supposed to do?”

He sighed and dropped his hand.

She skirted around him. “Good-bye, Mr. Alcott.”

“Miss Lyons,” he called out. Something in his voice made her turn around.

“What?”

“Has he told you about his sister?”

“Where the hell is she?” Tag barked as he paced the length of the small office. Every turn, he’d snatch open the door and stare down both sides of the street. “She’s been gone for over an hour.” Worry made his scalp and neck as tight as the casing on a sausage. He was desperate for her to return. She should never have gone alone. He shouldn’t have let her.

“Relax,” Boone said.

The agent’s laconic tone set Tag’s back teeth on edge. “Easy for you to say.”

“She’s fine,” he argued. “I’ve known Rebecca a long time. If anyone can take care of herself, she can.”

Tag thought about the mysterious packages she’d received. According to Donovan Garner of the Boston PD, the freshly severed finger had been delivered almost as soon as it’d been removed. Garner urged him to watch over her closely.

Tag stomped back to the door. “People who can take care of themselves get abducted and killed every single day. You know that as well as I do.” He tossed a glare over his shoulder. “Hell, you should know that even better since you’re with the FBI.”

Boone unfolded his long frame and sauntered forward. He tried to shut the door but Tag maintained his stranglehold.

“I’m going after her,” Tag said.

“No.” Boone peeled back on his little finger.

Tag howled and let go of the door. “Damn it, that’s assault.”

“The only thing that’s an ass around here is you, Cain. Rebecca is fine. You don’t seriously think danger is lurking in the corners of Freedom do you? That the Hex is going to rise up and snatch her away?”

Tag whirled around. “In case you’ve forgotten, there’s a murderer on the loose.”

Boone sighed. “I haven’t forgotten. I’m just trying to get you to see reason. She’s smart, savvy, and strong. She’s had her share of close calls and more than lived to tell about them. If you push her, though, she’ll leave.”

Tag paused in the middle of gathering another blistering comment. The air inside the office closed in on him with a mouth-drying stillness. “What do you mean, she’s had close calls?”

“Who are you talking about?” Wade asked as he emerged from the break room. He had a half-eaten apple in his hand and a scowl on his face. “Rebecca?”

Boone sighed long and loud. Tag knew it was a deliberate attempt to sway the conversation, but he was having none of it. He turned fully on the FBI agent and glowered. “What close calls? Do they have anything to do with the severed finger? How long ago?”

“Hold it, what severed finger?” Boone demanded.

Tag frowned. “You don’t know? Her secretary called about it this morning. I’ve talked to Boston PD, too. They don’t have any leads.”

Boone’s face turned flat and dangerous. Tag nodded.
About damn time
.

“No, I didn’t know. But as soon as I find her, I’ll get all the details.”

“I’ve got it handled,” Tag assured him.

The door opened behind him. Tag looked over his shoulder, prepared to give her holy hell for being out so long and going alone. Her troubled and almost fearful expression made him turn and haul her into his arms. “Are you okay?” he asked.

She trembled against his chest. “I am now.”

“What happened?” Wade demanded.

Rebecca shook her head and mumbled something none of them could catch.

Boone’s hand reached out for her shoulder. She jumped when he touched her.

Tag shared a frown with the other men then carefully eased her away. “Bex, honey, tell us what happened.”

“Did someone hurt you?” Wade demanded.

“Don’t yell at her,” Boone snapped. “Rebecca, come sit down.”

She brushed a hand through her bangs. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Nothing happened. No one hurt me. I just got…spooked, I guess.”

“At what?” Tag asked.

“Yeah, did someone approach you, or chase you, or something?”

“No, nothing like that. I was having a lovely time touring the shops on the Hex. I met the nicest lady named Jessie Vargas and had the most incredible shake ever with Clint.”

“Then what has you so riled up?” Tag said. “You were shaking like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rockers.”

Her nose twitched. “A long-tailed cat, huh? That’s a new one.” She set her bags down and again ran her fingers through the length of her ponytail.

“Rebecca?” Boone’s voice was low and authoritative.

Her back slowly stiffened and she turned her luminous green eyes on the agent. Her fingers twirled faster in her hair.

Unease returned and slammed through Tag like a tornado in a trailer park. He noted how his fingers shook as he lifted his hand to stroke her cheek. He didn’t give a damn if anyone else noticed. “Bex, tell us what happened.” The hoarse rasp of his voice shocked him. He usually didn’t give anything away but right now he couldn’t seem to contain any of his rapidly growing tension.

She gnawed at her bottom lip then bent and reached into her handbag. “I got some texts,” she said.

Wade snorted. “Yeah, we’ve been texting you for over an hour. I notice you ignored all of us.”

Humor flashed over her face. “Sorry, but I don’t obey commands.”

Boone chuckled and Rebecca’s expression segued into a blush.

Tag stilled and looked between the two. She’d said there was never anything romantic or sexual between them, but that look on Boone’s face was so damn
knowing
. He wanted to punch it off the agent’s handsome face but figured that would make Bex angrier than a hornet’s nest.

Tag held out his hand. “I’m assuming you’re not referring to ours?”

She placed the phone in his palm. “No, I’m not.”

Tag opened the message app and started scrolling through them. As he read through them, his blood pressure rose with each virulent, hate-filled text.

Wade read over his shoulder. His in-drawn breath didn’t hold a candle to the thoughts rolling through Tag’s mind. “Jesus,” Wade said.

“Son of a bitch,” Tag muttered and handed the phone to Boone. “Did anyone approach you?” Tag asked her.

“No.”

The answer was too fast. He lifted a brow and her gaze slid down and away.

“Try again, counselor.”

She tapped her foot then slowly lifted her eyes again. “I knew or knew of everyone I talked to today.” She nodded toward the phone now clenched in Boone’s hand. “I have no idea who sent those but I didn’t run into him.”

Boone turned on his heel and stomped toward the desk he’d been using. Tag watched him slam his fingers along the keyboard. “You looking up the number?”

“Yes.”

The clipped, one word answer was filled with as much rage as coursed through Tag’s entire body. Satisfaction leapt in him. With Boone’s resources they’d have the bastard in no time. Rebecca would be safe.

“Do you want something to drink?” Wade asked her.

“No, I just want to go home.”

For a moment Tag’s heart stilled. “To Boston?” he asked.

She frowned. “No. To your house.”

Then her eyes widened and she blushed again. “Or the hotel or something. Doesn’t matter where, I just want to sit down, take off my shoes, and relax with you guys and a glass of something strong.”

Bullshit, it does matter where.
Fierce gladness swept over Tag. Rebecca wanted to be with them.

Wade’s grin was just as elated. “I’m all for that,” he said. He lowered his voice and winked. “I’d like to play some more cards.”