Trouble With the Law (25 page)

Maybe she’d quit the firm and be a public defender.  Help women like those they’d rescued.
  Losing all the money she earned would take an adjustment, but she would have something more valuable than a Mercedes convertible.  She’d have her self-respect back.  Ronnie wrapped a towel around her body and walked down to the hall to find the clothes she’d washed yesterday. 

On the way out the bedroom door, she glanced at the bedside clock.  Conner would leave if she didn’t hurry.  She knew he wasn’t kidding when he
said that sixteen minutes ago.  After she dressed, Ronnie double-timed it down the stairs and power walked to the dining room, where she saw thick manila file folders spread on the huge dining table.  Nobody was in the room, and she hoped that Conner was still there.  She turned to go search the house for him, but he appeared at the doorway with a box in his arms.  He looked like shit, and he was extremely angry.  His handsome face was flushed and his jaw tight.

“It’s about damned time you decided to come help.  This is the last box,” he said walking to the table to plop it down on the white lace tablecloth.  She flinched, because the box wasn’t exactly clean.  His mother was going to have a conniption if he ruined the obvious heirloom.  But hell, if she didn’t want it ruined, she shouldn’t have used it at a fricking hunting lodge.

“I didn’t go to sleep until six this morning,” Ronnie said defensively then reined herself in, because her friend looked to be in a lot worse shape than she was.  “I see that you probably haven’t slept at all.  I’m sorry, and thank you for your help.”

Conner’s head rocked back on his shoulders and his eyebrows lifted over his tired eyes.  “Holy shit!  You been drinking the Kool-aid around here, Vee?”

Ronnie sighed.  Nope, this wasn’t going to be easy.  It would definitely be awkward to the people who knew her.  “I’m turning over a new leaf.  Get used to it,” Ronnie informed gruffly.  She glanced at the label on the box, which was scrawled in black marker.  “Campaign donations?” she asked.

“Yeah, I pulled the records for the donations to Leland Rooks campaign the last three elections.  I thought that might
give us a few clues.”

“We need to foc—“ she started then backed up.  “Good thinking.  Thanks.”  Conner’s dark eyebrows lifted farther, when she added.  “And thanks for your hard work.  I know pulling all of these files by yourself was tough.”

He grunted, then pushed a hand through his already rumpled hair.  “I got Ben to help me,” he said grumpily.  “We went through them and found some very interesting things that led us to pull the other files.”

“Really?” she asked with hope bubbling inside of her.

“Yeah, and it ain’t pretty.  They tried to hide their tracks, but I can’t believe nobody has put all this together as many times as Leland Rooks has been investigated.”

“Maybe they were just doing cursory checks, instead of a full investigation.  You know how those robots work.  They get paid the same whether they find anything or not.  And to challenge a man as powerful as Leland is taking your job and your life into your hands.  Why risk it?”

“We’re doing it,” Conner said pointedly.

“I have nothing to lose, and I’m going to keep you out of it as
much as possible,” Ronnie replied.

“Too late.  I heard
through the grapevine that the network administrator told Seemus that I was making an abnormal amount of copies.  I guess the guy was looking for brownie points or something.  If he knows what I know, he wouldn’t bother.”

“Did Seemus corner you about it?” Ronnie
asked with worry constricting her chest.

“He asked, and I told him I was working on bringing in a big fish for the firm,” Conner said with a laugh.  “He tried to pry a name out of me, but I told him I didn’t want to spoil the surprise until I reeled him in.”

Ronnie breathed a sigh of relief, but was still worried.  “Well, hopefully he bought it, and won’t check the network to see what you were copying.”

“I stopped making copies at the office.  I rented a copier and made the rest of the copies at my apartment.  You owe me.”

“I hope you used my credit card.”

“You bet your sweet ass I did,” he said with a laugh.  “And I rented the truck on your card too.  This is your mess not mine.  Even though I’m going to help you with it.
  By the way…”

“Yeah?” Ronnie asked anxiously.

“The feds came by the office yesterday looking for you.  Robert told them you were on leave, and the firm had no idea where you were.  They know you were out at the ranch and want to talk to you.  They found your car and brought back your briefcase,” he said handing it to her.

Ronnie took it from him, and looked inside.  Her pen was still in there, and relief shot through her.  Why that damned pen meant so much to her, she didn’t know. 
“Thanks.  Was my car okay?”  She hoped it was not trashed.  Like the pen, that car meant something to her.  Had more than just materialistic value to her. 

“
Yeah, she’s fine, which is more than I can say for my own car,” he said with anger lacing his tone.  “I rented a damned car on your card too, while mine is in the body shop.  They still have your car in impound.  I tried to get it out, but they won’t release the car until they find you to talk to you.  The only reason they gave me your briefcase was because I told them we needed the notes in there for cases we’re working on.”

“Well, they’re not going to find me.”

“They will if we’re not quick figuring out this crap.  They were pretty adamant about talking to you.  And I have cases pending, Vee.  I can only spare a few more days to help you.  I’ve already wasted three days.”

“What about Ben?” she asked hopefully.

“He can’t help us.  He’s up to his eyeballs in that murder case, and the interns he’s working with are green as grass.  I was lucky he helped me at all.”

Ronnie sighed.  “
Thanks for everything.  Tell him I said thank you too.”

“Damn, that’s
four thanks in fifteen minutes.  I think that’s a record for you.”

“Get used to it.  I’ve had an epiphany.  Being drugged, almost raped and on the run does that to a woman.”
  So did realizing what being called the Shark Lady for so long had done to her.

Dave Logan walked into the room followed closely by Trace. 
He’d heard what she said to Conner, because he said angrily, “That wouldn’t have happened to you, Veronica, if you’d have listened to me and stayed away from that ranch.”

“I know.  I’m sorry, Dave,” she said
then met his eyes.  “Thank you for getting involved to help us.”

“Wow, the thank yous and sorries are overwhelming me,” Conner said snarkily.  “I’m practically v
erclempt.  I think the Shark Lady is becoming a guppy, and I can’t say I like it much.”

Anger surged up inside of her and she tried to shove it back down, but didn’t quite
succeed.  “Don’t worry, I still have teeth.  If you don’t want to help, leave.  And if the best you can do is standing around being an asshole, don’t let the doorknob hit you in the ass on your way out.”

“Now, that’s the Vee, I know and love.  Welcome back,” Conner said with a wink.

“Trace and I are going on a road trip,” Dave announced.  “Tell Caleb and Jamie to call me when they wake up.”

Dave
turned to leave, but Ronnie stopped him.  They were keeping her in the dark again, and she wasn’t having it.  “Where are you going?”

Trace was hurt and didn’t need to be in any
more battles until he healed up.  Dave looked at Trace, then back at her.  “We’re going to meet with his buddy, Seth.  He has some information for us,” he said vaguely.  We’ll be back in a little while.”

“I’m cooking biscuits and gravy,” Allison announced with a yawn from where she stood behind Trace.  “Ya’ll should wait.”

“We have to get on the road, Mama,” Trace said dropping an arm over her shoulders.  “Save me some though.  I haven’t had your biscuits in—“ he said then his eyes shot to Ronnie’s accusingly.  “In three years,” he finished.

Allison patted his belly, and hugged him to her.  “You’re getting too skinny,” she said with a laugh.  “I need to fatten you up, or you’re going to be one big muscle.”

“I look forward to it, Mama,” Trace said, but Ronnie saw in his eyes and face that he was just placating his mother.  He fully intended on leaving town.  He hadn’t changed his mind about that.  His mother must’ve seen it too, because her smile wobbled.  “We won’t be long.  Save me a plate,” he said pushing her away.

Without another glance at her, he and Dave left.  Ronnie watched them leave with a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. 
If she didn’t get something figured out quick, Trace would take off and she’d probably never see him again, and neither would his mother.

That wasn’t happening.  Like those women they rescued, his mother had been through enough
.  Between her son being falsely imprisoned, her being married to Leland Rooks for so long, and him faking his death the woman should be up for sainthood. 

“Let’s get busy,”
Ronnie said taking a chair at the table.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“I need to talk to
Carrie,” Trace said staring down at the cold metal box in his hand.  The last effects from his best friend’s career as a police officer.  Sean had asked his wife to give it to Trace if anything ever happened to him.  It was locked and probably would stay locked.  Trace didn’t know if he’d ever have the heart to open up those old memories.

“You’re dead, man,” Seth reminded him.  “
Carrie thinks you’re dead too.  We heard the broadcast on the news this morning that they’ve stopped searching for your body, while I was at her house.”

So
he was presumed dead now.  That meant the feds and Leland would stop looking for him.  As long as he kept his head down, he would be good.  After being the scum of the earth for the last three years, the feeling of being nobody now, of being able to reinvent himself into anyone he wanted was a little intoxicating.  But it was damned scary too.  He sure hoped he could make himself a better man this next go round than he had before.

His ex-partner’s wife was probably happy to hear that news.
  “That’s ironic it came on while you were with her,” Trace said and sadness settled in his chest.

“It is, but
she was pretty torn up about it.  She had already given me the box and told me to keep it, or throw it away.  She couldn’t face opening it herself.  It’s locked, so I didn’t open it either.  She said she thought it was just the ball from our championship game in there and a key to his old locker at the station.”

“Is
Carrie moving?”  Trace hoped like hell she was moving out of the house she had shared with her dead husband.  Maybe that would help her start healing and moving on.

“
Yeah, she’s almost all packed up.  She pulled the kids out of school already, and she’s moving to her daddy’s ranch next week.,” Seth said with a huffed breath.

“I still haven’t talked to my Mama about fronting the money
to her for a ranch.”

“Don’t.  She needs her family right now.  I think moving out to the country to live with them for now is the best
for her and for the kids.  Maybe later, once all this is settled, you can help her.”

Trace nodded, and grabbed the handle on the box
in his arms to swing it at his side.  “Thanks for bringing this to me,” he said wondering at the rattle he heard inside of the box as the contents moved from one end to the other.

Dave cleared his throat. 
“We’re going to try and capture Ray Brown tomorrow night.  Just so you know,” he informed.  “He’s expecting those men we’re holding to deliver the women to him then.  We’re going to turn him over to Beau Bowman with the Rangers once we have him.”

Seth looked surprised, but relieved too.  He
glanced at Trace.  “You going with him with your gut sliced open?” he asked.

“No, Dave is handling it.  I wish I could go with him.”  Trace would like nothing better than to be the
one to take down Ray Brown, because he had a feeling that might lead to taking down Leland Rooks.  But if someone saw him, especially Ray, that wouldn’t be conducive to remaining dead so he could reinvent himself if things didn’t work out.  He just hoped Dave could get answers out of Ray before he turned him over to the Texas Rangers.

Not that he thought any information Ray gave them would lead to taking Leland down, any more than he thought Ronnie going through all those files she had was going to do that either.  Leland was slick.  He covered his tracks well.  And he had no problem taking out whoever was a threat to him.  Even his own son.

The radio attached to Seth’s belt went off and he shook his head, and twisted the knob to turn down the volume.  “I’ve got to go,” he said.  He met Dave’s eyes.  “You be careful tomorrow night, and good luck.”

“Don’t need luck,” Dave said cockily.  “I don’t have to follow the same rules you do
.  I think Ray Brown will figure that out and cooperate like the men we captured did.”

Seth’s eyebrows lifted, and a small smile kicked up the corner of his friend’s mouth.  “Well, maybe I need to talk to you about a job.  Sometimes I’m handcuffed more by the rules than the prisoners I take into custody.  It’s frustrating.”

“I’ve been there, man,” Dave replied with a laugh.  He stuck out his hand to Seth and they shook.  “It’s nice meeting you, and if you need a job call me.”

“After all this is over, I very well might.”

The thought of working with Dave flitted through Trace’s mind too, but he shoved it back.  Who the hell was he kidding?  He was an ex-con, and he was on the run from the feds.  Dave rode the fence with the law, but he served his purpose to them, so Trace would bet they left him alone.  If he hired ex-cons they wouldn’t be so accommodating, he was sure.  That would buy trouble the man didn’t need.  And besides Trace was a dead man now.  That was going to take some getting used to. 

H
e looked rougher now than he had when his picture was plastered all over the television four years ago.  That photo they used then had been from the police academy when he was only twenty-three years old.  Because of his status as Leland Rooks son, his story and that photo had become national news.  When they formally announced his death, they would probably use the mug shot from his arrest instead.  He definitely looked older and rougher in that photo.  Much closer to how he looked now, not considering the scar he’d picked up in prison.  Someone could definitely recognize him from it. 

His own country probably wasn’t going to be big enough to hide. 
Maybe he’d just sneak over the border into Canada somehow.  Or Mexico.  It was warmer, and he spoke a little Spanish, he could get along there.  He definitely needed to be planning his exit strategy, because he didn’t have an ounce of faith that Dave would get anything out of Ray Brown, or that Ronnie would find anything in those files.

“Trace?” Seth said, probably not for the first time, because he spoke pretty loudly and Trace realized his hand was out to him. 

Trace took Seth’s hand and shook it.  “Thanks again, man…if I don’t see you again…”

Seth’s face flushed, and his grip on Trace’s hand tightened.  “
Be seeing you man.  Leave me a message if you cut out,” his eyes darted to Dave then back to Trace.  “But you never know, things might work out.”

Trace snorted.  “Not likely, and you know it.  Like I said, thanks for everything,” he said pulling his hand back. 
Trace cleared the lump of emotion that blocked his throat, then said, “You’ve been a good friend, Seth.”  Next to Sean, the best friend that Trace ever had.

Seth growled, then took a step forward
to give Trace a man hug.  He slapped his cheek, before stepping back.  “You are such an asshole, how could you not be my friend?  We’re just alike.”

“Assholes of a feather?” Trace asked with a laugh.

“Damned straight,” he agreed then looked down at his radio which went off again.  He sighed and turned toward his truck.  “Call me if I can help.”

“I’m not dragging you into this mess any more than you already are,” Trace replied.  “Take care of yourself, Seth.”

He nodded and walked toward his truck and Dave and Trace walked back to the van.  When they were inside the van, Dave put the keys in the ignition, but hesitated before he turned the engine over.  “Don’t’ take off yet.”

Trace had been in his own head again, and looked over at him. 
“What?”

“I said don’t take off yet.  I’m going to help Ronnie figure things out.  If we can’t figure it out, I’ll help you disappear.
  She and I talked this morning, and I think I can help you.  She told me what happened to you four years ago.”

“Did she tell you Leland paid her off
to send me to prison?” Trace asked with a dry laugh.

“He didn’t pay her off.  But he paid someone off,
or several someones, and we’re going to find out who that was.  You just hang tight.”

“I can’t promise you that, but if I do take off,
do me a favor and take care of Ronnie.  Leland could see her as a threat, and she could be in danger.”

“Nobody is going to have to worry about Senator Leland Rooks very soon,” Dave
promised darkly.  “But if you take off, I’m out of it.  I’m not stepping off into that for no reason.”

“Ronnie is your reason,” Trace replied.  “Taking him down isn’t going to solve my problems.  The feds are after me, if she didn’t tell you.  I shot an agent.”

“That can be explained.”

“Tell Susan Whitmore that.  I shot her boyfriend, and she’s not going to be a happy woman.  You think Ronnie is tough?  Wait until you meet that woman.”

“I’ve met her,” Dave said with a chuckle, as he cranked the van.  “I worked with her on an op a while back, and you’re right.”

“The
n you know I’m not joking.”  That woman could probably kick both of their asses and tie their dicks into bows, before they could blink.  She wasn’t a woman to mess with.  Trace had done a lot more than that.

“You have bitten off a chunk there, I agree,” Dave replied.
  “But she’s reasonable too.  Once we have enough evidence, I’ll help Ronnie talk to her.”

Trace had a feeling Dave could talk until he was blue in the face, but Susan wasn’t going to be listening to anything he had to say.  He’d give it a few days, but he was still going to plan on leaving with or without Dave’s help.

***

Ronnie looked up from the file she was going through when Allison Rooks walked into the dining room with a tall, blonde woman beside her. 
She had been having a hard enough time focusing with the loud group of women in the living room, laughing and talking while they watched television, without another interruption.  Conner seemed to be having the same trouble, so she sent him upstairs a few minutes ago for a shower and a nap.  He had been useless to her in the condition he was in.

“Who are you?” she asked
with a groan.  All they needed was more players in this mess.  Trace was going to have a bird.  At least he wasn’t here for her to see him.  Maybe Ronnie could get the woman out of here, before he and Dave got back.

“
I’m Lou Ellen Wells, Allison’s best friend.  I’ve come to help,” she informed stepping around Allison.

“You can’t stay here,” Ronnie told her setting her pen down beside the pad where she was making notes.

“I can do anything I damn well please,” Lou Ellen replied with a lifted brow.  Ronnie liked her attitude, usually appreciated a strong, outspoken woman, but not right now.

“You can’t stay here,” she repeated as she scraped her chair back to stand.

“I needed her help to get Leland’s bank records,” Allison informed, pushing her friend aside.  “I called the bank this morning, but had no way of picking them up.”

Ronnie lost her breath.  “You have Leland’s bank records?”

“Of course, I’m his wife.  I have access to them all,” Allison said with a smug smile.  “My name is even on his campaign fund account.  I organized all the fundraising parties.”

“Holy crap,” Ronnie said with a smile herself.  “How far back did you go?”

“Four years.”

“Perfect.”  That was the missing piece of the puzzle here. 
Going over Leland’s campaign records weren’t getting her anywhere.  He reported what he wanted to report.  Probably just enough to convince people he was above board with his campaign funds.  If she could reconcile these files with his actual bank records, personal and campaign, maybe she would get somewhere.  What they needed was a CPA though, or forensic accountant.  This fine accounting was way beyond Ronnie’s area of expertise.  “Now, I just have to ask Conner if he knows a good accountant.”

“You’re looking at one,” Lou Ellen said smugly.

“Lou Ellen is a stock broker in Dallas, and a CPA.  I thought she could help us,” Allison said with a glance up at her friend.

“What the hell are you standing there for then?” Ronnie asked with a laugh.  “Grab a box and a chair, Lou Ellen.  I’ll see if I can locate a calculator.”

Lou Ellen lifted the lid on the box in her arms and tilted it forward.  “I brought my own.”

“You are a woman after my own heart
.” Ronnie shook her head and smiled.  The moon, the sun and the stars must be aligning, because she thought maybe, just maybe, they might be able to pull a rabbit out of hat here.

“I didn’t know you had one of those,” Trace said gruffly
, as he walked through the doorway to stand beside his mother.  His eyes flew to Lou Ellen.  “Mama, what is Lou Ellen doing here?” he asked with a frustrated sigh.  His mother’s best friend, his aunt, was a good lady, but aggravated the hell out of him most of the time.  She was a busybody, always into other people’s business, and a smart mouth just like Ronnie Winters..

“
I called her,” his mother said with a tilt of her chin.  “She’s here to help us, son.  Now shut up and go find something to do other than bother us.  We’re busy,” she informed walking over to pull out a chair at the table.  “Make yourself useful, and get someone to bring in the boxes from Lou Ellen’s car.”

Other boxes?  His eyes moved around the dining room to the boxes stacked four deep against the wall
s.  Going through all of that paper could take year.  He didn’t have a year, but if it kept these women out of his hair, he would go bring in more boxes.