Against the Odds (24 page)

She scoffed. “Luis is a fool.” She surprised him by shoving
open the screen, inviting him into the house. “I have been expecting the
police.”

He stayed alert, wondering if she was planning some kind of
revenge, but instead she just shook her head. “That
cabron,
Luis, he has never been any good. I toss him out in the
street, but he always comes back. I am a fool and let him in.”

“I’m sorry about what happened.” It was the truth. He didn’t
like killing people, not even when they deserved it.

Felicity shrugged. “He was worthless. But the children are his,
and he paid the rent.”

“Does the name Sabrina Eckhart mean anything to you? Perhaps
someone Luis spoke about, something he was being paid to do that involved her?”
Alex pressed a hundred-dollar bill into her hand.

Felicity eyed it with appreciation, tucked the money into the
front of her low-cut blouse between her full breasts. “Luis tells me nothing. If
you want to know something, ask his friends.”

He peeled off another hundred, held it out to her. “You know
their names?”

She looked at the money and bit her lip, trying to decide how
much she should say.

“You’ll have to tell the police what you know. If not, they can
arrest you as an accomplice.”

She snatched the hundred from his hand, stuffed it in with the
other. “Jose Garcia and Ricardo Zamora. He left with them last night. They are
as worthless as he is, but maybe they know something.”

“You know where I can find them?”

“Somewhere in the neighborhood. You must not mention my
name.”

“No, of course not.”

She smiled, reached out and ran a finger down his cheek. “You
get lonely,
querido,
you come see Felicity. She will
make you feel better.”

Alex kept his smile in place. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks
for your help, Ms. Marquez.”

Feeling as if he had made a bit of progress, he left the house,
retreating down the front steps and along the walkway toward the street. Ben
appeared to his left, three swaggering teenage boys gaining on him from
behind.

Confrontation was in their every move, the need to prove their
manhood. They were young, but they were big and strong and they knew it. They
moved between Ben and the car.

“What you got in your pockets, gringo?” the one on the left
said, lanky, hard-faced, maybe seventeen.

“If you don’t want trouble,” Ben said, “I’d advise you to step
out of my way.”

The kid in front grinned. “We do not mind a little trouble,
gringo.” His glance shifted left and right. “Do we, amigos?”

The one on the right took up a splay-legged stance. He smiled.
“Trouble, she is my middle name.”

Alex’s hand went to the weapon he carried behind his back, but
he held steady. Ben looked like he had this, and interfering might make the
situation worse.

“Step aside,” Ben said. “Do it now, or you’re going to regret
it.”

The leader gave a laugh that turned into a grunt of pain as
Ben’s knee shot into the kid’s groin, doubling him over. Ben spun, threw a quick
jab to the jaw of the boy on the left, sending him sprawling. Steadied himself
to face the third.

The wide-eyed teen glanced from one of his friends to the
other, both lying on the ground, making little groaning noises. The kid started
trembling.

Ben ignored him and started walking. He didn’t stop till he
reached the Denali. They both climbed in and he fired up the powerful V-8
engine.

“Nice work,” Alex said.

Ben’s hands tightened on the wheel. “They’re just kids. They’ll
be dead or in prison by the time they’re twenty.”

“It’s a lousy deal. But a lot of it’s the choices they make.
You’ve got to want out to get out.”

“Trouble is, it’s usually too late by the time they figure that
out.”

Ben was right. Some of the money Alex donated went to groups
like Big Brothers Big Sisters, and other inner-city programs helping teens
change their lives. Sometimes they actually worked.

“I got the names of the two men Catano was with last night.
Trick’s going to be finding them.”

As the Denali rolled toward the freeway, Ben flicked him a
sideways glance. “Might be good to give that info to the cops, let them do the
hound-dogging.”

Alex nodded. “Let the police bring them in, we’ll get Murphy to
find out what they know about Sabrina.”

“Meantime, I’ve got a couple of contacts in the neighborhood.
One of them might be able to give you a lead on them.”

“Sounds good.”

“Unless Catano was the connection to the cousins. Then we’re
shit out of luck.”

“Unless Sol finds something.”

“Yeah. Meantime, you’re gonna need a safe place to keep your
lady. My place would work. I’ve got a friend I can stay with for a while.”

Ben lived in a small house in Rice Village, nice little place
with a yard. Good security, easy to defend. Being an ex-SEAL, Ben was just
naturally cautious.

“This friend of yours...she a lady friend?” Alex asked.

“Female acquaintance.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “With benefits?”

The corner of Ben’s mouth edged up. “Hell, yeah.”

Ben didn’t go long without a woman. And at the same time he was
never really involved with one. Just the way Alex used to be before he’d met
Sabrina, only Ben didn’t usually stay friends with the women he dated. Maybe
they fell too hard.

“Cleaning lady was there today. You’ve even got clean
sheets.”

“Appreciate it,” Alex said. He liked being in a place he knew,
a neighborhood he was familiar with, a layout he could control. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Just be sure and feed my cat.”

Alex smiled. His friend was as softhearted with animals as he
was hard-hearted with women.

Ben stepped on the gas, picking up speed, matching Alex’s
anxiousness to get back to the office. He felt better when Sabrina was close by
where he could protect her.

The bad news was, when they walked inside, Sabrina wasn’t
there.

Twenty-Six

R
ina breezed back into the office laughing.
Oh, it felt good to get away from all of this for just a little while. After
they had raided enough stores to outfit her for at least a few days and bought
the necessary makeup and toiletries, Sage had insisted they stop for a late
lunch at a little out-of-the-way Italian place where she and Jake liked to
eat.

At the last store they’d visited, Rina had changed into a pair
of black capri pants and a sleeveless black-and-white-print top, put on a pair
of dangling silver earrings she had purchased and slipped her feet into
inexpensive low-heeled silver sandals.

Full of antipasto, lasagna and a glass of Chianti, she climbed
into the backseat of Sage’s Mercedes, and Jake drove them back to the
office.

Since she hadn’t gotten any phone calls, she figured Alex
wasn’t back yet.

Which worried her a little. Alex was in a dangerous
neighborhood asking dangerous questions, and after last night, she knew the kind
of violence he could be facing.

As Jake pulled into the parking lot, she spotted the black SUV
Ben had been driving and breathed a sigh of relief. They climbed out of the car.
Sage hugged her goodbye and headed back to work, and Jake carried her shopping
bags into the office.

She smiled as Alex approached, happy to see him until she saw
the black look on his face.

“Where the hell have you been?”

Sabrina opened her mouth to explain, but Jake answered for
her.

“Take it easy. She needed some clothes. I didn’t want her going
back to her apartment or to your place, so Sage and I took her shopping.”

Alex blew out a breath. He raked a hand through his hair,
mussing the golden strands a little. “We just got back. I should have known you
had things under control. Sorry.” He looked over at Sabrina. “I was worried,
okay? No big deal.”

Feeling a little catch in her chest at the concern in his face,
she slid her arms around his neck and kissed him full on the lips. “Thanks for
being worried.”

He held on to her for a moment before he let her go and she
thought how good it felt when a man you cared about cared in return.

“Come up with anything?” Jake asked Alex.

“Got the names of the two men who were with Catano last night.
I called Murphy on the way back, fed him the info.”

“Good idea. Cops’ll have a better chance of tracking them
down.”

“I’m hoping they’ll know something that will give us a lead on
who hired them.” Alex started to say something more when the bell rang above the
door.

Sabrina recognized the handsome man she had met at the mine,
Arturo Hernandez, the engineer from the Desert Mining Company.

“I’m looking for Alex Justice,” he said to Annie, then spotted
her standing there and started walking toward her.

“Sabrina... I have been trying to reach you. I called your home
number and your cell. I left messages but got no answer.”

“I’m sorry, Arturo. I didn’t mean to cause you so much trouble.
Some things have been happening. I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.”

“I came to Houston to find you. I had your friend’s card. I
hoped he would be able to put me in touch with you.”

“I guess I should have called.”

Eyes the color of melted chocolate ran over her and Arturo
smiled. “You look as lovely as ever.”

Beside her Alex stiffened, but Rina didn’t mind the compliment.
She was a woman, after all. She enjoyed a little flattery once in a while. She
just thanked God she had changed out of her baggy jeans.

“That’s kind of you, Arturo. You remember Alex.”

“Of course.”

“Hernandez,” Alex said brusquely. The men made cursory nods but
didn’t shake hands.

Arturo’s attention returned to her and his smile widened. “I
have news. Most exciting news.” He reached over and caught her hand. “Is there
someplace we might speak?”

Alex pulled her away from him, back against his side. “You can
use the conference room,” he said tightly, clearly unhappy that Arturo was
there.

Rina reached for Alex’s hand. “I’d like you to come with
me.”

Some of his tension eased. “All right.”

Alex urged her ahead of him and Arturo fell in behind. Alex
closed the conference room door and they sat down at the long oak table.

“Since you’re here,” Sabrina said to Arturo, “I presume the
core samples have come in.”

He nodded. “Indeed they have. I am pleased to tell you that
they surpassed my highest expectations.” He set his leather briefcase up on the
table and popped the brass latches, pulled out a folder and pushed it in front
of her.

“Desert Mining has done a thorough chemical analysis of the
ore. That is what determines the composition.” He reached over, opened the
folder, flipped through to one of the pages and pointed to the columns of
numbers.

Which meant nothing to Rina, but looked impressive.

“We’ve also determined the limits of the deposit, which are
quite vast.” He turned the page, showed her more charts and numbers.

He turned back to his briefcase, took out a photograph and
placed it in front of her. “This is an aerial view of the property. The area
outlined in yellow marks the land where the open pit mining will be done.”

She followed the outline. “It appears to be quite large.”

“Yes, it is. In this presentation, you will find an in-depth
analysis of the project. It includes a feasibility study examining the cost of
initial capital investment, the optimal method of extraction, the operating
costs and the estimated length of time before we can expect a return.”

“What about gross revenue projections?” Sabrina asked. “Have
those been done?”

Arturo looked surprised and impressed. Flipping through several
more pages, he showed her the revenue projections.

“And net profit margins?”

“Those are calculated here.” He turned to another page, and
Rina studied the numbers. Finance was an area she understood.

“You will also find the projected life of the reserve,” Arturo
said, “the value of that reserve and the residual value of the land for possible
resale.” He looked up, smiled. “As you can see, Desert Mining has been extremely
thorough.”

She studied the information they had put together for her
review, a large number of pages. “I’ll need time to go over all this, and of
course my attorney will need to review it.” Assuming she could find one willing
to wait for his fees. “But the research I’ve done indicates your company has a
very good reputation for honesty and fairness.”

She glanced over at Alex, saw a faint smile of approval on his
lips.

“Should you decide to partner with us in this project,” Arturo
continued, “we will also take care of environmental impact studies, reclamation,
possible legal ramifications and of course, the necessary government
permitting.”

She tapped the file. “It looks as if I have the information I
need. Assuming we go forward, what’s our next step?”

“You must come back to the desert. You must look at our mining
operation, observe our equipment at work. The board would like to set up a
meeting at our offices in Presidio as soon as it can be arranged.”

She flicked a glance at Alex, saw him frowning. “Yes, of
course. Let me go over the information and I’ll get back to you as quickly as I
can.”

“The nearest airport is Odessa. I will be happy to make hotel
arrangements, pick you up and drive you to Presidio.”

“Sabrina has her own transportation,” Alex put in before she
could reply. “Should she decide to make the trip, she’ll arrange her own
accommodations.”

A little thread of annoyance slid through her. She was
perfectly capable of making those decisions for herself. She pasted on a bland
smile, cast Alex a warning glance and hoped he got the subtle message, which he
must have because he was looking amused and a little too pleased with
himself.

Rina stood up from the table, signaling the end of the meeting,
and the men stood up, as well. “One last question. Was your initial assessment
of the property value correct? Twenty million?”

Arturo smiled. He was a very handsome man, confident, and under
different circumstances, would have been extremely appealing.

“That estimate would now be somewhat low. Of course, once the
actual mining operation begins, the land will be worth a great deal more.”

She kept her smile in place though her heart was pounding like
a hammer in her chest. “Thank you, Arturo. Let me give you a number where I can
be reached.” She gave him the disposable cell number. “I’ll be in touch very
soon.”

They made their way out of the conference room. Rina walked
Arturo to the door.

“I look forward to our working together,” he said, holding the
hand she held out to him a little longer than necessary.

“You, as well,” Rina said. As the bell rang signaling Arturo’s
departure, she turned and grinned, took a couple of steps toward Alex and threw
herself into his arms.

“Oh, my God—did you hear that?” She mimicked Arturo’s Spanish
accent. “‘Twenty million would be
somewhat
low.
’”

Alex didn’t laugh. “I don’t like him. But that doesn’t mean he
isn’t good at his job. And I’m really glad for you.” He bent his head and kissed
her, drawing it out, making her stomach float up beneath her ribs.
“Congratulations.”

Behind them, Ben and Jake were grinning. “Guess our little
treasure hunter hit the jackpot. Congratulations.”

Rina grinned. “Thanks.”

“I don’t know about you,” Alex said, still keeping an arm
around her, “but it’s been a damn long day and I’m ready to go home.”

She looked up at him. “Which one, yours or mine?”

“Neither. We have new accommodations for a while. I’ll fill you
in on the way.”

Gathering up the bags of clothing she’d bought, Alex started
for the door, but Rina stopped at Annie’s desk.

“I need my gun.”

Alex scowled. “What the hell?”

Annie smiled and handed Sabrina the holstered weapon. “Jake’s
loaning it to me,” she said, “and yes, I know how to shoot it.”

Alex cast a dark look at his friend, who grinned unrepentantly.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Alex said to him.

“You better hope
she
does.”

Ben laughed.

Alex frowned. “You don’t have a concealed-carry permit, do
you?”

“No, this is just for when I’m in the house.”

Alex plucked the weapon out of her hand. “Fine, I’ll take care
of it till we get there.”

Rina fought not to smile. “Thanks.” Breezing past him, she
sailed out the door.

* * *

“Do you really know how to shoot that thing?” Alex asked
her as he drove his BMW the short distance to Ben’s house.

“My dad taught me. I have a .25 caliber at my place, but Jake
seemed to think that was a popgun, not a real gun, and besides he didn’t want me
going back there.”

“Probably not a good idea at the moment.”

“So where are we staying?”

“Ben’s place. It’s not far from the office and the security’s
good.”

“If they found us at your place, what makes you think they
won’t find us there?”

“These guys are not professionals, love. Think about it. The
helicopter was a damned good bet, but the car wreck was a long shot. And the
guys last night were right off the street. They knew where to find us because
your family figured we were sleeping together, which meant we’d probably be at
your place or mine. It was a guess that panned out.”

Rina looked down at the hands in her lap. “You’re that sure
it’s them.”

“Aren’t you?”

“If it’s one of them, they must be desperate.”

“Or greedy. All they had to do was be nice to their old man.
They sure as hell didn’t have to kill him.”

He didn’t miss the tremor that ran through her. She didn’t say
anything more until they walked into Ben’s small, single-story, wood-frame
house. He tossed her shopping bags onto the dark brown leather sofa, then reset
the alarm by the door.

“Definitely a man’s place,” Sabrina said, trailing a hand over
the sturdy oak end table where a beige pottery lamp shed light into the room.
She checked out the big-screen TV and the outdoor magazines on the coffee table.
“He keeps it nice and clean, though.”

“He’s ex-military. Old habits, you know?”

Just then a big gray tabby walked out of the kitchen, his
attitude haughty, as if they were intruding on his domain.

“Ben has a cat?”

“Believe it or not, he’s a real animal lover.”

“What’s its name?”

“Hercules. Ben calls him Herc.”

Sabrina knelt and extended her hand. “Hello, Herc. Aren’t you a
big pretty kitty?”

Herc seemed to preen. He wandered toward Sabrina, ducked under
her hand for a little stroking. When he butted his head against her, she
scratched his ears and rubbed his chin. For the first time in his life, Alex was
jealous of a cat.

She came to her feet as Herc meandered away, her expression
once more serious. “I have to go back to the desert, Alex.”

“I know that. In a couple of weeks, this’ll be over. I’ll fly
you back and—”

“Not a couple of weeks—a couple of days. You don’t want me to
sign over the mine to my cousins. The only other way for us to stay safe is for
me to improve the property as quickly as possible. That means I need to get
things started.”

“And you will. But right now, your immediate safety is what’s
important.”

“I’m going, Alex. I have to. You don’t have to go with me. I’m
a grown woman. I can handle this. I won’t tell anyone except Arturo I’m coming,
and I’ll fly commercial. No one will even know I’ve left Houston.”

Alex’s jaw tightened, clamped so tight he could barely force
out the word. He felt like the top of his head was about to blow off. “No.”

She blinked. “No? You think you can just say
no
and I’ll toss away all my plans? Do you really
think—”