Kade: Armed and Dangerous (20 page)

The overwhelming stench slammed into him, enough to damn near drive him to his knees.
His eyes and throat burned, and he struggled to swallow. He pulled a handkerchief
out of his pocket and covered his nose.

The body hung on a rope. A rope tied to a meat hook. A man. His swollen head tilted
at a bizarre angle, and his tongue... Kade closed his eyes for a moment, then made
himself look again. That thick, engorged tongue—and the face, hideous purple-blue
like the hands. His hands looked like surgical gloves blown up and painted black.

A ceiling fan churned next to the corpse, the blades skimming the top of his black
hair and striking the rope, causing the whoosh- whoosh-whoosh noise. The room was
trashed. Chairs smashed, garbage littering the floor, the couch on end.

Damn.

Kade listened for sounds inside the house and heard none. He headed back outside and
jogged down the stairs, filling his lungs with clean air.

From the looks of the man, not to mention the smell, he’d been dead for a while, and
Kade doubted if anyone had hung around to see what happened next. He kept his weapon
drawn and went back to his truck to radio the Border Patrol headquarters and the police.

While he waited for the cops to arrive, he checked out the front room again. He didn’t
recognize the man, but the face was too bloated to be sure. The cadaver’s body was
at least two feet off the floor. No chair, or anything else he could’ve stood on,
was close enough to the man for it to be a suicide. Plaster had chipped away from
around the meat hook, exposing the beam it was screwed into.

Sirens screamed in the background as he glanced at the garbage around the room. Fast-food
wrappers, a sock with a hole, a toothpick, a matchbook cover, and sunflower seed shells
were scattered among the trash.

Kade noticed a torn piece of paper. He couldn’t quite make out the word. Was that
Toro scrawled across the top of the scrap?

Was it related to El Torero, meaning the matador? Or
toro,
meaning bull?

Red and blue lights flashed through the open doorway into the interior of the dim
house as the first law enforcement vehicle arrived.

Two hours later Kade headed home, after giving his statement to the police about how
he’d come across the body, and why he was there.

He’d hung around to gain information during the police investigation. Identification
in the corpse’s pockets said the man was indeed Pedro Rios. After examining the scene
and the body, the homicide detective said he had no doubt Rios had been murdered but
would have to complete a full examination.

Gerald Spitz would be in for a nasty surprise when he got hauled down to the police
station for questioning. Protecting sources was one thing. Murder was another.

***

After she returned from her interview with another rancher, Kelsey headed out to relax
beside Sadie’s pond. She sank into the swing’s cushions, slowly rocking back and forth
in time with the sound of toads croaking by the pond.

The waterfall’s gentle babble soothed her nerves, and a late afternoon breeze stirred
and caressed her face. The air smelled of rain, the sky dark with pregnant storm clouds.

Pregnant. What would it be like to be pregnant with Kade’s child? To have his baby?
Kelsey stretched out on the swing and covered her face with her hands. How could she
think of such a thing, when she’d known the man for such a short time?

What an incredible night they’d had, not to mention the hours before dawn. She never
knew it could be like that. So fulfilling. So incredibly good.

That’s what Theresa and Calinda had always talked about. Now, after her night with
Kade, she believed them.

And yes, he was right. No matter what happened next, she couldn’t regret what they
had shared last night.

She relaxed, imagining all the tension in her body seeping through the cushion of
the swing, swirling into the ground, deeper and deeper, until everything around her
faded and she slid into a deep sleep.

The sun warmed Kelsey’s face, caressing her lips, her eyelids, her brow. A heady sense
of pleasure enveloped her and she sighed, content to bask in the gentle, loving heat.

“Kelsey,” the sun called to her in a throaty whisper.

“Mmmm,” she murmured, then opened her eyes to see that it was dark outside and Kade
was bent over her. “Kade.”

He balanced on the edge of the swing, his arms propped on either side of her hips.
He shifted and ran his finger down her nose. “Wake up, sleepyhead.”

She smiled. “I dreamed the sun was kissing me.”

“Not the sun.” He bent and brushed his lips over hers. “Me. I kissed you here.” Her
lips. “And here.” Her nose. “And here.” Her eyelids. “And I want to kiss you in places
the sun can’t reach. In places that only I can touch you.”

Kelsey flushed and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I want to kiss every inch of
you, too.”

Kade gave her his sexy grin that made her stomach flutter. “I’ll consider that a promise.”

She noticed his hair was wet and he smelled of apple shampoo. “You’ve taken your shower.”

He ran his hand down her neck and over the curve of her breast, and she gasped, her
nipples tightening at the sensual touch.

“It was one of those days,” he murmured. “I knew if I came near you first, I couldn’t
control myself.” He nuzzled her ear, then kissed it. “See? I can’t even keep my hands
or my mouth off you.”

“Mmmm.” She loved what he was doing to her, how he was making her feel. “Let me sit
up.”

“Why?” Kade nipped at her chin and then her lips. “I like you where you are. Beneath
me. But if you want to be on top that’s all right with me, too.”

Kelsey grinned. “Maybe.”

He helped her up, then drew her onto his lap. She didn’t protest. The strength of
his arms made her feel safe and secure, and wanted, something she hadn’t felt since
her parents and sister had died.

“Are you ready to tell me what your ex did to you?” Kade murmured, surprising her
with the directness of his question that seemed to come out of nowhere.

She slipped one arm behind him and the other across his hard stomach. The scent of
Sadie’s roses mingled with the smell of impending rain. A chorus of crickets filled
the night and in the distance a coyote howled. The only light came from the windows
of the house, and stars had begun to appear through patches of clouds in the evening
sky.

Kelsey gave a deep shuddering sigh as Kade caressed her shoulder, down her arm and
back again. “Do we have to talk about him?”

“I think it’ll be good to realize that he was just a bastard who didn’t deserve you.”
Kade gently massaged the nape of her neck. “How did someone as sweet as you ever hook
up with a son of a bitch like that?”

She tensed at the thought of her ex-husband’s so-called courtship. “We started dating
during my junior year of college. Davis was charming, attentive, and handsome. And
I was young and naive.”

A raindrop landed on Kelsey’s ankle and soft splatters hit the canopy above. When
she started talking again, her voice was flat. “After the accident he was always around.
A few months after I lost my family Davis stopped by my apartment and found me crying.
He fixed me a glass of wine and said it would relax me. Next thing I knew it was morning,
and we were in bed, naked.”

Kade made a sound like a low growl. Rain pattered harder, but Kelsey continued, knowing
she needed to tell him everything. “I couldn’t remember a thing. I freaked out, but
Davis said I drank the entire bottle of wine on my own, then pleaded with him to stay.”
Memories twisted in her gut like a serrated blade. “He insisted that I begged him
for sex and told him I didn’t want to be a virgin any longer. He said we should get
married because he loved me, and in case I was pregnant.

“I thought I was in love with him. I trusted him.” She curled her fist. “I was so
stupid. I really thought he loved me.”

Kade caught her chin in his hand and made her look at him. “Stop beating yourself
up over the guy. You were young and innocent, and the bastard took advantage of you.”

She reached up and kissed him. “You’re so good to me.”

“You’re so good for me.” He brushed his lips over hers and she shuddered, every nerve
in her body raw with desire. “Think anyone would notice...”

“Out here?” She gave him a horrified look.

“I’m just teasing you.” He kissed her again. “Though I find the idea appetizing.”

Rain began pouring down and a barrage of lightning split the sky. Thunder rumbled,
an unearthly sound that made her heart pound.

“We’d better get inside.” Kade scooted her off his lap. “We’re sitting on a metal
swing, and that’s not a smart thing in a thunderstorm.”

He grabbed her hand and they raced in the rain to the house. They reached the porch
just as brilliant lightning flashed again, the crash of thunder immediately following.
They were still laughing, still holding hands, when they walked into the house.

When she saw Trent, Chuck, and Sadie, she tried to pull away, but Kade wouldn’t let
go.

“How come you’re holding Kelsey’s hand, Dad?” Trent’s face twisted as if in thought.
“Is she your girlfriend?”

Kelsey blushed, but Kade nodded, his face solemn. “Yes, she’s my girlfriend.”

Trent bounced up and down. “Cool. Can I have a little brother or sister?”

Chuck and Sadie burst out laughing, and Kelsey wanted to hide.

Kade smiled and looked at her. “One step at a time, Trent. One step at a time.”

“Damn straight I’m upset about what those illegals did.” John Stevens scowled around
his toothpick in response to Kelsey’s question.

They were sitting in the office of the former sheriff’s sprawling ranch home. After
asking the rancher’s permission, Kelsey had gotten out her cell phone that was, as
usual, set on record. She checked her list of questions as they talked.

“Exactly what happened?” Kelsey kept her expression professional, but her pulse beat
a little faster at the heat in Stevens’s words.

He narrowed his hazel eyes, his scowl deepening. “A group of ‘em passed through the
east pasture. Instead of climbing through the barbwire fence, they cut it with wire
cutters. Hundreds of my cattle got out.” Stevens clenched his fists and his face reddened.
“My herd got into some bad feed and it killed ‘em all. We’re talking thousands of
dollars gone to hell.”

Before Kelsey could reply, a phone rang. Stevens withdrew a cell phone from the breast
pocket of his plaid shirt and checked the display.

“ ‘Scuse me, ma’am.” He shifted in his seat and glanced toward the doorway. “I’ve
got to take this call.”

“I’ll wait in the hall until you’re done.” Kelsey stood and wandered out of the ranch
office as she heard Stevens answer the phone, speaking fluent Spanish.

As she waited for him, she studied framed photographs and newspaper articles on the
man’s walls. Apparently the rancher was active in local politics. He and Mayor Montano
shook hands in one shot. In other clippings, Stevens had posed with men and women
who were local politicians and businessmen, according to the various captions.

A few minutes later, Stevens came out to the hall to let her know he was done with
his phone conversation, but he’d have to cut their interview short. Kelsey followed
him into the office, sat down, and hurried through the remainder of her questions.
In some ways she was glad for the earlier interruption. The rancher seemed more relaxed,
even jovial, after the phone call, as if he’d received good news.

When she finished the interview, Kelsey gathered her cell phone and laptop, and thanked
the rancher. The phone rang again as she was leaving, and she told Stevens she’d see
herself out.

As she drove the SUV along the dirt road leading from the ranch, she passed a vanload
of people heading toward Sweetwater. The van was traveling so fast that a cloud of
dust rose around it, and the driver almost swerved into Kelsey’s vehicle. She bit
her lip as she gripped the steering wheel.

The man driving the van barely spared Kelsey a glance, even though he’d almost run
her off the road. She clenched her teeth. Some people shouldn’t be allowed to have
a license.

In the Turners’ study, Kelsey sat before her laptop computer. She typed in John Stevens’s
responses to her questions as she transcribed the recorded conversation.

When she came to the part where she’d left the room and the rancher began to speak
in Spanish, she started to fast-forward. She hadn’t even thought about the fact she’d
left the phone on record when he took the call. She paused when she recognized one
word.

Not a word—a name. Gordo. The same name Dee Carter-Reynolds had mentioned.

Was Stevens speaking to or about someone named Gordo? Or was he talking about something
else altogether?

Kelsey’s cell phone rang, indicating a call was coming in and interrupting Kelsey’s
train of thought. When she glanced at the display, she saw that it was her editor
and put the phone to her ear. “Hey, Theresa.”

“How’s my favorite reporter and shopping bud?” Theresa’s pleasant voice flowed over
Kelsey, making her homesick for her friend.

“Wonderful.” Kelsey smiled and sighed. “Couldn’t be better.”

“Mmmm-hmm. You sound awfully satisfied. Does that mean you’ve found yourself a decent
man?”

Warmth crept up Kelsey’s neck, and she tried to keep her voice from betraying her.
“What in the world makes you say that?”

Theresa snickered. “You can’t fool me.”

No use trying to keep anything from Theresa—talk about an investigative reporter.
She’d been one of the best. The woman definitely could scent anything out of the ordinary.

Kelsey settled in the office chair and eyed the door of the den. “His name is Kade
and he’s the most incredible man I’ve ever met.”

“Way to go.” Kelsey could picture Theresa’s devilish grin. “So, how’s he in bed?”