Trouble With the Law (13 page)

"Ben Holliday," he
replied, his finger hovering over the keypad.

"
Who the hell is that?” he asked standing.  “Why don't you call Leland while you're at it?" Trace growled.  "I'm sure the thugs on his payroll would like a leg up on our location.  You might as well just give them the GPS coordinates!" 

The two men faced off, but Conner was the one who took a step forward.  He put a finger into Trace's shoulder,
surprising Ronnie.  Trace shrugged it off, but Conner held his ground.  Conner didn't get mad often, he was one of the most even-tempered men she knew.  Or he appeared to be.  Even when he was angry, nobody knew it.  Her friend had one of those poker faces that came in very handy in the courtroom.  Ronnie could read him though, and right now he was steaming. 

"Buddy
, you might think you're the Lone Ranger, but even he had a side kick," Conner grated as he poked his finger in the air near Trace's shoulder.  "You need our help, and if you don't lose that chip on your shoulder, you
will
wind up dead or back in prison.  Two of the best legal minds in Amarillo are on your side.  You should be thanking your good fortune that we
want
to help you."

Trace's eyes locked with
Ronnie's.  "I had one of these two
great
legal minds on my side when I faced murder charges and wound up in jail for two years," he grated through his teeth.

"Yes, you did, and
you're right, Vee made a bad decision.  But if you're the better man, you'll at least let her help you now."

"Two years in jail didn't make me a better man.  It made me a
bitter
man," Trace ground out.  "A hard man who doesn't trust a fucking soul."

Ronnie had enough of his stubbornness.  If
Trace didn't want help, she wasn't going to force it upon him.  She walked up beside Conner and took his arm.  "I'm not begging, Conner.  Let's just go," she said then looked into Trace's hard, angry eyes.  "Don't expect a visit from me in jail this time," she said then lifted her chin.  "Or a tear at your funeral."

Ronnie started toward the door, but his words stopped her.  "Those men at the ranch are after you
too, don't forget that.  You need
my
help too.  If you walk out that door, you probably won't make it back to your apartment."

Fear sliced through her, but
Ronnie stiffened her shoulders and turned to face him.  "Dave Logan can protect me better than you can.  You just worry about yourself.  I'm sure the FBI will take those men out soon.  Should I give the feds your forwarding address, so they can include you in their takedown?" she asked smugly.

Trace swallowed hard.  "I'd appreciate it if you didn't."

Conner took her shoulders in his hand and turned her to face him.  "Vee, don't cut off your nose to spite your face.  He's right those men are after you too.  This is the safest place for you right now.  I understand why you want to bail," he said with a glare at Trace.  "But this isn't just for him now.  It's not safe for you to leave."

"I want to go home."

"No way.  They'll find you," Conner said firmly.  "This place is remote enough that I don't have to worry about you.  You're staying here." 

Another man trying to tell her what to do.  Conner of all people should know telling her what she was going to do was the wrong tack to take with her.  The hair on the back of Ronnie's neck raised, and she wound up to blast him, but Trace sighed loudly. 

Leaning around Conner, she asked, "What was that sigh about?"

"Why the hell do I care if you die or not?  Hell, I've wanted to kill you several times myself now."  It was like
Trace was voicing his thoughts, instead of talking directly to her.  His eyes were off at a distance near the fireplace.  Dropping his chin to his chest, breathed a few times then looked at her.  "Stay, Ronnie.  I need your help.  And your boyfriend is right, this is the safest place for you."  His jaw worked a few times then he added, "We've got to end this now."

What she would like to know is exactly what they needed to end.  She
had started this whole adventure to help him clear his name and clear her conscience.  It had turned into a lot more than that.  There was Leigh Ann Baker's kidnapping, and his involvement at the ranch now too.  Ronnie would stay because she was too curious not to.  She wanted the full story about what was going on, and Trace was going to give it to her.  Once she knew, she would decide whether she was going to continue to help him. 

The simple fact that he had asked her to stay and help him shocked the hell out of her.  “
Well I think the demons are lacing up their ice skates," Ronnie said with a laugh.

T
he red-haired devil should know, Trace thought, as he started at her standing there at the door with a smug smile on her face.  Trace thought for sure she must’ve possessed him too.  Because as much as he despised her, he wanted her to stay.  One, so he could watch out for her.  And secondly, so he could watch her.  Make sure she didn’t run her mouth to the wrong person. 
Keep your friends close, and enemies closer
.  His grandfather's favorite saying.  Trace wasn't sure which category this woman fell into yet, but he thought keeping her close was a good idea.  "Stay," he repeated shortly.

After a second of studying him, she said,
"I'll call my office in the morning and tell them I'm taking a temporary leave of absence.  They’re not going to like it, but that’s too damned bad.  I need to talk to Dave Logan too.  He can help us find Ray Brown."

"Okay, call
them.  But don't tell anyone where you are," Trace said.

Ro
nnie's lips tightened, then added to her demands, "Conner is also calling Ben Holliday to help us.  There are a lot of files to weed through."

"Fine."
  Trace didn't have any choice but to agree if he wanted her to stay.

"And you are going to be
nice
to me, or I'm out of here," Ronnie pushed, folding her arms over her chest, which made her breasts flow over the top of the too small shirt.

"Don't push your luck, Red
.  And don't threaten me.  I don't do nice.  Especially where you're concerned."  Civil was as close as he was going to come with her.

"You did nice at
that ranch,” she said.  After a pause, she added with hidden emphasis, “And at your friend's house, you were
especially
nice."

"
That was out of necessity.  Don't misinterpret things," Trace replied bluntly.  He hoped she got his hidden meaning too.  It was only sex.  Damned good sex, but only sex.

Ronnie's eyes narrowed. 
"Oh, I know exactly what that meant.  You made your point exceptionally clear, Mr. Rooks.  Suffice it to say I won't be putting myself in that
position
again."

"Good.  If
we understand each other, this will be easier."  On the surface anyway.  Trace knew being in close contact with her twenty-four hours a day wasn't going to be easy for his libido.  He might despise Ronnie Winters, but that didn't mean his body didn't want another taste of her.  However,
that
didn't mean he would act on it.

Conner dropped his arm ov
er Ronnie’s shoulders and squeezed.  She looked up at him and said, "I think you need to go back to town, Conner." Slipping her arm around his waist, she suggested, "You can call in a report that you saw a motorcycle go over the bridge.  That should get the ball rolling on them declaring Trace dead."

"I agree," Conner
replied with a kiss to her cheek.  Ronnie stepped in front of him to put her arms around his waist for a hug. 

Trace was extremely surprised to the see the soft side of the Shark Lady.  Evidently where Conner Lucas was concerned she had one.  He wondered
again what their relationship was.  But that wasn't his business, Trace reminded himself, as he walked to the coffee table and picked up the remote to turn on the television above the fireplace. 

"We need to watch the news and see what the latest on the situation is
," he said as he flicked through the channels.  He found the news, tossed the remote down and sat on the sofa.  Ronnie walked outside with Conner, and shut the door behind her. 

Trace fought the urge to peek out the window to satisfy his curiosity
about their relationship.  Whatever they were doing out there, it was not his business, he reminded himself again, focusing his attention on the big screen.  After the commercial break, he leaned forward to prop his forearms on his thighs.  He pushed the volume control higher and listened intently to the anchor man.

"Our lead story tonight is about the FBI raid at the Diamond Bar ranch today.  Authorities made numerous arrests, but they are s
till looking for several men."

Pictures of Ray Brown,
and Carl Calhoun flashed up on the screen, then a blank box with a description of Kane Stone, the newest hire at the ranch, an Aussie cowboy that Trace didn't think knew a thing about what was going on there. 

Lord only knew how many other
s had escaped that they weren't mentioning.  There were at least sixty men working out at that ranch.  Some he'd never even met.  The feds were understaffed, so they only had five men out there, so he bet they didn’t know either.  Most of them were newbie agents who didn’t have a clue.  Carlos Ramos had been one of them.  At least that man had tried to help Ronnie. 

Trace wondered how Carlos was doing.  Maybe he could call the local hospitals later to check on him.  He didn't give a shit about Jay Dawson.  That bastard could rot for all he cared.  But he did care about Carlos.  The agent had been collateral damage in the cluster fuck at the ranch. 

He also wondered what would happen to the shipment of kidnapped women that was supposed to arrive at the ranch in a few days.  Now that the takedown had happened, there wouldn't be anywhere for the Coyotes to deliver them, or anyone to deliver them to.  Ray Brown wouldn’t be stupid enough to meet them, and his second in command, Jay Dawson was probably either dead, in the hospital or in police custody.  The human traffickers would have to take them somewhere else.  Or kill them.

Until the
women were addicted to the drugs they were given at the ranch, they weren't controllable enough to take to the Cantina in Houston to become prostitutes.  If Ray or someone didn’t meet them at the drop off point, they would probably be killed.  Those girls were expendable.  They were nothing more than commodities to those assholes who traded like the horses they stole and ran through the Diamond Bar. 

Trace had a bad feeling those women would end up being collateral damage too.  If that happened, it would be his fault
, because he knew about it and chose to do nothing.  He was going to think about that and try to come up with a plan to help them.  Only a few of the men at the ranch knew where the drop off point was.  The ones in the circle of trust.  That didn't include any of the federal guys planted at the ranch.  But Trace had followed Ray and Jay the night of the last shipment.  So he knew.  He just hadn't had time to fill in anyone else yet, so that left it up to him if he wanted to do something about it. 

What Trace found strange was that his name hadn't been mentioned in the
news report.  He guessed it was because his last name would cause a media storm that would only hinder their investigation more.  There was no doubt in his mind though, that they were looking for him.  Seth said the feds had issued an APB.  Just because they hadn't shared that with the media, didn't mean that had changed.  Trace only hoped the feds were also taking down the guys up the line of command in that organization.  The ones not at the ranch.  Those were the men who needed to be arrested.  Like Leland and his cohorts.  But because the takedown had happened early, before the feds finished gathering evidence, most likely the arrests would stop at Ray Brown.  Unless Ray talked, Leland would be free and clear.

And that was his fault.  He had made the choice to rescue Ronnie from that ranch, instead of honoring his commitment to Susan Whitmore. 
Trace knew in her mind, Susan considered what he’d done to be a breach of his commitment to help her.  The circumstances behind his actions wouldn’t matter to her.  Even without the new charges against him, he would go back to prison.  With those added charges, he could be looking at a long stretch this time. 

Trace was not going to stick around and let that happen.  If things got hot here,
or if he thought they weren’t making headway to find answers, he would strike out on his own.  Maybe the mysterious Dave Logan could track down Ray Brown.  Ronnie seemed to have utmost confidence he could do that.  That would mean he was free to leave too, unless Ray had talked to Leland.  Then Leland would be after Ronnie too probably. 

His mother could probably find out if Leland knew.  Trace made a mental note to call her.  He needed to anyway to let her know he wasn’t dead.  The last thing he wanted to do was cause her more grief, but he was going to have to swear her to secrecy.  She was good at keeping secrets though, she had kept Leland’s for thirty years now.

After listening to the entire newscast, the weather came on, and Trace clicked off the TV with a sigh.  There hadn't been any mention of a motorcycle accident either, which meant he wasn't dead yet.  Ray and the feds were all still looking for him.