The Texan (32 page)

“Isn’t that a little suspicious? Doesn’t that sound like he’s one of the bad guys?” Bay said.

“It’s odd,” Owen conceded. “But I’m not willing to believe Clay is acting on the wrong side of the law. Maybe he’s keeping your brother safe somewhere. Maybe he needed to disappear so he wouldn’t have to answer awkward questions.”

“Yeah. Like where he put the stolen VX mines,” Bay retorted. “I want to go home.”

Owen caught Bay’s arm before she’d taken two steps.
“Let me call my boss first and let him know we’re all right, and see what he suggests.”

Owen had no trouble getting hold of his Ranger captain on the phone.

“Where the hell are you?” Captain Mabry demanded. “I’ve had men looking high and low for you in the Big Bend. We thought you were dead. Are you both all right?”

“Bayleigh Creed and I are at the Midland-Odessa Airport,” Owen replied. “We’re fine. We found the VX mines and a whole lot more munitions besides.”

“Good. You’d better report to Paul Ridgeway.”

“Two of Ridgeway’s FBI agents showed up with Uzis at the camp where the mines are kept. I had to kill them to escape.”

There was a long silence on the other end of the line before Captain Mabry said, “What are you suggesting?”

“Nothing,” Owen said. “I’m telling you what I know. By the way, have you heard anything about my brother Clay or Luke Creed?”

“The FBI is running this show. We’ve been pretty much cut out of the loop. You’d have to check with Ridgeway to see if there have been any developments on Luke Creed. What’s going on with Clay?”

“Clay hasn’t shown up for work in a week.” Owen started to tell his boss that Clay had flown out of the hijackers’ camp with Luke Creed the previous week, but held his tongue. He wondered which law enforcement agency had contacted Clay. Exactly who was he working for? Obviously, the Texas Rangers knew nothing.

“Is Clay involved in this VX business?” Mabry asked.

“I don’t know,” Owen answered, though it appeared Clay was in “this VX business” up to his neck. “Are you
saying I should contact Ridgeway?” he asked his boss. “Even though the two FBI men I killed worked for him?”

“He’s the man running the show,” Mabry said. “Unless you have some reason to suspect him personally.”

“Only guilt by association,” Owen said.

There was another silence. “Do you think he’s involved?” Mabry asked.

“I can’t imagine why he would be,” Owen said. “But I can’t imagine why two FBI agents who work for Paul would be, either. Any suggestions?”

“I’ll see who I can find who might be able to give us more information on the two men you killed. Give me their names.”

Owen recited the information from their IDs.

“Can you tell me where those mines are, so we can put a guard on them?” Mabry asked.

“I’d have to take you there.”

“Call me after you talk with Ridgeway,” Captain Mabry said.

“Then you think I should see him?”

“There’s not much he can do to you in downtown Midland,” Mabry said.

“My thoughts exactly,” Owen said.

“I’ll call Ridgeway myself and have him send a car to pick you up. Tell him what you know. But watch your back.”

“I will,” Owen said.

“I’ll call your folks and the girl’s folks and let them know you’re okay.”

“I’d appreciate that,” Owen said and then hung up.

“What happens now?” Bay said.

“Captain Mabry is going to call our parents to let them know we’re all right. We’re going to the FBI office to meet with Paul Ridgeway.”

“I want to talk to my mother,” Bay persisted.

“What can you tell her that Mabry can’t? Do you know where Luke is?”

Bay made a face. “What if Ridgeway is one of the bad guys?”

“Even if he’s involved, he’s not going to be able to do a thing to us at the FBI office in Midland, especially when my boss knows that’s where we are,” Owen said. “He might very well know what’s happened to our brothers.”

“All right,” Bay said. “I’ll go along for the ride.”

When the government car showed up at the airport to pick them up, the driver was Paul Ridgeway himself.

He got out of the car and said, “After I spoke with Captain Mabry I realized it would be dangerous for the two of you to show up at the FBI office in town. There might be other agents involved in this, and I don’t want to risk something happening to you. My suggestion is for you to get right back in that helicopter and fly to Alpine. I have a cabin there where you can stay until we figure out who else might be involved.”

Owen exchanged a look with Bay. “The government doesn’t mind loaning us its helicopter?” he said dubiously.

Ridgeway smiled. “You’ve already borrowed it once. I could arrange for a pilot, but the fewer people who know you’re alive and well, the better.”

“Captain Mabry said—”

Ridgeway interrupted Owen. “Mabry told me about James Brophy and Terry Watkins. You can imagine what a flap it’s going to cause when it becomes known that two FBI agents were responsible for the murder of a Texas Ranger and the theft of those VX mines. I need to make sure someone doesn’t eliminate the only two witnesses
who know where all those missing mines are located.”

“I’d rather go home,” Bay said.

“Soon,” Ridgeway promised. “Give me a little time—twenty-four hours—to see who else in my office might be implicated.”

Owen was watching Ridgeway, looking for some sign that he was lying, or that he knew more than he was saying. He didn’t see or hear anything that sounded suspicious. Except for sending them off in the government’s helicopter. But that could be explained using Ridgeway’s own logic. The fewer people who knew he and Bay were alive, the better.

“Where is this cabin of yours? Can we land the helicopter there?” Owen asked.

“Actually, you can. I can give you directions that will get you there. There’s a helipad next to the house.”

“How rustic is this cabin?” Bay asked. “Is there a shower?”

Ridgeway smiled. “It comes with all the modern conveniences. Except a phone.”

Owen felt his heart pick up a beat. “No phone? How are we supposed to stay in touch?”

“I’d offer you my cell phone, but it won’t work in those mountains. It’s only for twenty-four hours,” Ridge-way said with an apologetic smile.

Owen wasn’t comfortable being cut off, but he had a couple of Uzis as protection, and they could still fly back out in the helicopter if they didn’t like the looks of things when they arrived. “All right,” Owen said reluctantly. “Let me call my boss and let him know where we’re going to be.”

“Captain Mabry and I talked this over, and he agreed with my assessment of the situation,” Ridgeway said. “But if you want to call him again—” He held out his cell phone.

When Owen hesitated, Bay took the cell phone and said, “I’d like to call my mother.”

“By all means,” Ridgeway said.

But when Bay tried to use the phone it read “Low Battery.”

Could Ridgeway have planned to have a low battery? Owen met Bay’s suspicious look with a shrug. “Guess you’ll have to wait another twenty-four hours to talk with your mom.”

“And your brother Luke,” Ridgeway added.

Both Owen and Bay turned to stare at Ridgeway. “You know where Luke is? And Clay?”

Ridgeway smiled. “Clay has Luke hidden away somewhere safe. You can be sure of that.”

“His office has no idea where he is,” Owen said.

“Think about it,” Ridgeway said. “Where would your brother go if he needed a place where no one would be likely to find him, and he wanted to keep Dr. Creed’s brother safe?”

Suddenly, Owen knew. “You mean he’s gone to the hunting cabin at Bitter Creek? That’s perfect! But why not tell his office where he is?”

“We have no way of knowing who we can trust,” Ridgeway said, “or how far-reaching this conspiracy is.”

“And you’re going to figure all this out in the next twenty-four hours?” Bay asked the FBI agent skeptically.

“The investigation is making great strides, Dr. Creed. Yes, I expect this whole matter to be concluded within the next twenty-four hours. By the way,” he said, “both Clay and my daughter have stayed at the cabin. You should both be able to find clothes they’ve left there that will fit you.”

Owen’s suspicions about Ridgeway began to subside. Ridgeway was aware that Clay was hiding Luke at their
father’s hunting cabin at Bitter Creek—something nobody else seemed to know—and Clay would only tell that to someone he completely trusted.

Ridgeway escorted them to the helicopter. “How are you for fuel?” he asked.

“Based on the directions you gave me, we should be fine,” Bay replied.

“What are you planning to do about those two dead agents and the VX mines?” Owen asked.

“They’re not going anywhere,” Ridgeway said. “We’ll take care of them once we’ve rooted out the bad seed.”

Owen stepped into the helicopter. “How will we get in touch with you?”

“I’ll fly in and see you,” Ridgeway said. “What time is it? Seven. I’ll be there about seven tomorrow night.”

“Good enough,” Owen said.

They were in the air before Owen spoke again on the headset. “I don’t know whether to trust him or not.”

“If we’re voting, I vote not to trust him,” Bay said.

“What did he do that makes you doubt him?”

“Dogs run in a pack,” Bay said. “Those two Dobermans followed Ridgeway around like he was the alpha male.”

“He knew where Clay and Luke were staying,” Owen argued.

Bay shook her head. “You told him where Clay and Luke were staying.”

“I did not. I—” Owen frowned as he tried to remember his conversation with Ridgeway. “Are you sure?”

“He insinuated that he knew where they were. You confirmed the location. Will he be able to find the cabin?”

“He can figure out where it is. A couple of U.S. presidents have stayed there. The Secret Service did security checks before they spent the night.”

Bay shot him an anxious glance. “I’m worried, Owen. What if Ridgeway’s on his way right now to kill your brother and mine?”

Owen grimaced and shook his head. “That would mean he’s coming after us next. If that were true, why would he give us the helicopter? I think you’re seeing monsters where there aren’t any.”

Bay sighed. “They’re out there. We just haven’t identified them yet.”

“Let’s go to the cabin and sit tight for twenty-four hours. Clay can take care of himself.” Owen put up a hand to stop Bay’s protest. “If Clay went to the trouble to fly Luke out of that camp, he isn’t going to let the bad guys get to him now. It’s entirely likely there’s some kind of guard on both of them.”

Owen firmly believed what he was saying. But that crawly feeling along his spine was back. Something wasn’t quite right. He wished he could figure out what it was.

“All I want is a long, hot bath,” Bay said. “And a soft bed.”

Owen brushed his hand over the beard on his cheeks and chin. “I could use a shave and a hot shower. And a soft bed—with you in it.”

“Don’t push me, Owen.”

“You told me you never quit. Why are you quitting when it comes to us?”

“There is no us. There can’t be an us.”

“Too late for that argument, Red, when I’ve already been inside you.”

“You’re a Blackthorne,” she said. “How am I supposed to trust you?”

He looked long and hard at her, then said, “My being a
Blackthorne isn’t the problem. The problem is I’m a man. And every man you’ve ever trusted has betrayed you—from your father on down.”

“My father—”

“Spent all his time with your crippled brother. Some boyfriend took advantage. A trusted professor did the same. I don’t suppose you’ve let anyone else get close. Until I came along. But I’m not going away, Red. I’m here to stay.”

“Until some other woman catches your eye,” she muttered. “Like your friend’s widow.”

“Julia? We’ve always been good friends, but there’s nothing else between us. Never has been. Never will be.”

They arrived at the helipad, which Ridgeway had said would be lit up by a caretaker, who would also make sure the lights and hot water were on in the cabin. The helicopter was on the ground before Bay spoke again.

“Maybe you’re right,” she conceded. “Maybe my lack of trust has nothing to do with you being a Blackthorne. But it’s there, Owen. I don’t know how to make it go away.”

“Give me a chance. Let me prove to you—”

“How?” Bay asked. “What can you possibly do that would make me believe I can count on you when the chips are down?”

“I don’t know.” Owen smiled ruefully. “I suppose you’ll just have to trust me.”

Bay met his gaze, her eyes bleak. “I’m sorry, Owen. I can’t take that chance.”

BAY SOAKED IN A TUB OF HOT WATER AT PAUL
Ridgeway’s cabin for almost an hour. She’d never had a bath that felt so good.

“Hey. Are you almost done in there?” Owen called through the door.

“I don’t want to get out,” Bay called back.

“Fine,” he said, opening the door and stepping into the tiny room. “I’ll be glad to join you.”

Bay laughed. “As you can see, there isn’t room in here for two.” She was covered in bubbles. “I’ve been trying to figure out how to rinse my hair.”