SPY IN THE SADDLE (11 page)

She refused to beg for his attention again. If he wanted to ignore what had happened between them, she wasn’t going to bring it up if it killed her.

So she spent her Sunday with busywork, typing up a long report for her boss at the FBI and sending it off, then running personal errands all day. By the time night fell, she was tired from running around but her mind was too antsy to rest. When her phone rang, she grabbed for it, thinking it might be Shep....

She had no idea what to hope for.

She didn’t want to fall in love with him.

But Jamie Cassidy’s voice came through the line instead. “Hey, want to go grab something to eat? Unless you have other plans.”

Right. Because her social life was so happening. Hardly. Yet, she still hesitated. She wasn’t good at letting people in.

Then she drew a deep breath and plunged forward. “I’m game. But shouldn’t you be on a hot date with the deputy sheriff?”

“Nothing’s more important than family,” he said, which made her feel good. “Anyway, it’s girls’ night out. Bree is taking her sister to the mall. They’re getting pedicures and eyebrow shaping, whatever that means. I’d rather not know the sordid details. I have an hour before I go back on duty.”

He didn’t sound very threatening. And an hour seemed manageable. “Know any good pizza places?”

“Sure. But there’s a chipotle
cocina
not far from the hotel that will make you glad you came to Texas. I’ll pick you up.”

“I’ll meet you there.” She always preferred to have her own ride. It was an independence thing. “Just let me know where it is.”

He did. “How soon can you be ready?”

She laughed out loud. “I’m an FBI agent.”

“Right. Born ready and all that.”

“You bet.” He was easy to talk to, she thought as she hung up.

She’d barely seen him since she’d arrived. The team was working full steam, everyone pursuing leads, the team members off gathering information and tracking down any possible connections to the Coyote. They were all running around nearly 24/7, with breaks that were few and far between.

She’d meant to catch up with Jamie, just hadn’t found the right moment yet.

Family was new to her. But now that she had some, maybe she could explore the possibilities a little. Without going in too deep. She didn’t fully trust the idea of one big happy family. Had never seen one truly work, up close and personal.

Her only experience was that the second she let her guard down and let people into her heart, they dumped her or hurt her. Her operating life rule had been not to trust. Part of her equated that with keeping herself safe. It was a false assumption and an unhelpful rule, however.

Past experiences created life assumptions that influenced one’s attitude toward life and his or her actions, which formed their new life experiences. She’d spent enough time with the FBI shrink to know that. She had to, to pass a psych evaluation for the job.

Understanding her hang-ups, however, and shaking off old habits were two different things. But she knew what she wanted: to move forward. She wasn’t about to let the past bind her forever.

So while she didn’t feel a big wave of warmth and pleasure at the thought of building some kind of family link with Jamie, she made herself go. Just as she would make herself give him a chance.

She brushed her hair and changed her T-shirt. She walked down the stairs instead of taking the elevator, needing the exercise. The drive wasn’t long. The
cocina
was just a few blocks from her hotel, run by a family who’d been in the area before there was Texas, according to a framed newspaper article near the front door. The place was loud but smelled amazing, and Jamie had somehow managed to find them a quiet corner where they could talk without having to shout at each other.

“Do you live around here?” she asked once she slid into the booth across the table from him.

“Renting a place in the unsavory section. The better to keep an eye on the local troublemakers.” He grinned.

Their order was delivered in minutes. They were sharing a chipotle chicken-and-shrimp platter that just about covered the small table.

“I met your sister, Megan,” she said, wanting to start with something positive. “She helped my brother find me. She’s very nice.”

“You think that because you didn’t have to grow up with her,” he said in a droll tone. “Once she put pink nail polish on me while I was sleeping. Sisters are the devil’s instrument. Be glad you have a brother.”

She couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her. “When was that?” She popped a shrimp into her mouth. It tasted like heaven.

“Don’t know. Tried to repress the memory as best I could. Middle school maybe.”

“I’m sure you did your best to annoy her, too.”

He studiously kept his gaze on the platter. “I’m not saying I never cut her hair. Or shoved the odd frog or lizard down her shirt.” He flashed a nostalgic grin as he looked up.

“You have a ton of brothers. Seven?” She popped a giant shrimp into her mouth and let the flavor spread through her.

He sobered for a moment. “Six now. Billy was killed in action.” He paused. “But when we were kids, the seven of them put together were less trouble than Megan.”

“I missed that,” she told him as an old sense of longing awakened inside her. “The family thing. I have no memories of my birth family.” And although she’d met Mitch and spent an entire afternoon with him, it still felt a little strange.

“So I take it when Mitch showed up on your doorstep, you didn’t recognize him?” He shook his head. “Of course you didn’t. You were a toddler when you last saw him. That had to be strange.” He took a sip of his drink. “Him showing up out of the blue.”

“I thought he was some scam artist. He was lucky I didn’t put him on his back.”

Jamie choked on his drink for a second before he finally swallowed. “I would have paid money to see that.” He coughed some more. “You ever go up against Shep by any chance? And if you did, is there video footage?” He grinned.

She took a big bite of chicken so she wouldn’t have to answer.

Jamie narrowed his eyes. “His jaw looked kind of purplish this morning.”

Yeah. She’d seen that. She kept chewing in silence.

“If he’s getting fresh with you...if you want me to beat him up, just say the word. That’s what family is for.”

She rolled her eyes. “There’s way too much testosterone in that office. What is it with men and violence?”

He had the gall to look hurt. “What are you talking about? You’re the one who socked him.”

“I shouldn’t have.” She really regretted that. She sighed. “I ruined his life, you know. Back then.”

He didn’t look too concerned. “You were probably the most excitement he saw until he joined the team. It was good training.”

“I was on the wild side,” she admitted.

“I heard.” He took a bite of his food before he asked, “So what’s the first thing that you do remember?”

“Foster families. Lots of them. I got passed around. I might have acted out now and then.” She took a drink as she remembered. “The adults were all right. The kids...” She shook her head. “In places it was so bad you didn’t dare fall asleep. Cutting my hair off in my sleep would have been the least of it. You had to show you were the toughest. Then you got in trouble for that.”

“Is that how you ended up with Shep as your parole officer?”

She nodded. “He was okay. Not that I appreciated that at the time. I just wanted to be free.”

They talked some more about that, then Jamie’s brothers, and Megan and her new baby.

“I’m an aunt.” The thought still made her a little dazed.

Jamie watched her. “How do you feel about that?”

“Weirder than weird. I’m linked to this little kid. And I’m supposed to be someone she can look up to and depend on if needed, and all that. Scary.”

“I know what you mean.” He nodded. “As long as they don’t ask us to change diapers, right?”

She swallowed. “That ever happens, I’m joining the navy. I’d feel more comfortable with shipping out, honestly.”

Jamie looked as if he’d considered the same. But when he spoke again, it was to change the subject. “So, you and Shep?” He shook his head. “Just trying to wrap my mind around it. I feel like I should ask him about his intentions.”

“Don’t.” She looked down at her food. “It’s over. It never really was anything.”

“Okay. Just want to let you know that if you need me for any reason, I’m here. I’m family. I got your back.”

A different person might have taken that as a good thing, but it just brought all of Lilly’s insecurities to the surface. Why the hell did everyone want to protect her? First Shep, and now Jamie. Didn’t they think she was good enough to stand on her own? She was.

She gave Jamie a flat smile and changed the subject, back to the family and all those other brothers-in-law she hadn’t yet met. And by the end, she might have relaxed a little, laughing at Jamie’s outrageous stories.

They stayed for an hour, then parted ways in front of the
cocina,
Jamie promising to invite her over for dinner and introduce her to his girls. Apparently, Katie, Bree’s sister, lived with her.

She thought about that on her drive back, how Jamie seemed happy. That hadn’t always been the case, from what she understood from the one-page summary she’d gotten on him before taking the job. He’d lost both legs, dealt with some serious PTSD in the past and heavy-duty depression. He’d been assigned to the team strictly for office duty in the beginning.

Dinner with him had been nice, but she was still antsy. So instead of heading straight to the hotel, she took a small detour to drive by The Yellow Armadillo.

Just because the bar was closed on Sundays, it didn’t mean there wouldn’t be anybody there. In fact, their day off might be the perfect time for Brian to run his illegal activities.

She wanted to find something, wanted progress, wanted to prove to Shep and Jamie and the rest of the team that she was good enough, that she could take care of business. That she didn’t need them, didn’t need anyone. Her pride didn’t like that they all saw her as someone who needed to be protected.

Of course, pride was a dangerous thing. Especially when it went hand in hand with her deep-seated need to always prove herself, always stand alone, never trust a hand offered.

Pride goes before the fall.
Unfortunately, she didn’t remember that bit of ageless wisdom until it was too late.

Chapter Nine

The sign on the door said CLOSED, but the lights were on behind the shuttered blinds. Maybe they’d been left on for security. Most of the stores on the street were lit up. Still, on an impulse, Lilly drove around the block.

A small truck idled in the back alley, blocking her view, the empty cab facing out, the back lined up with the bar as if for loading. All right, so that could be something interesting.

She thought about calling Jamie, but he was headed to work, and dragging him back on a hunch didn’t seem fair. It’d be taking him away from following other leads that might actually pan out. First she’d see if there was anything to call about. She didn’t want to seem like some overeager rookie jumping the gun, trying to make something out of nothing.

She looped back to the front and parked, then got out. The parking lot was deserted, less than a dozen cars, all of which probably belonged to the people who lived in the apartments above some of the shops. None of the businesses were open this time of the night on a Sunday, no reason for anyone else to be here.

She walked up to the bar and tried to look through the gap in the blinds. But before she could have gotten a good look, the front door opened.

Brian came through, his eyes narrowing at her. “What are you doing here?”

Maybe he did have security cameras set up and they were just well hidden.

She gave an easy smile. “Oh, good. I’m glad to see you. I think I might have left my cell phone here last night. I looked everyplace else.” She smiled again. “I was hoping somebody might be around to let me in to take a look?”

“Let’s see where it rings.” He flipped his phone open and pushed a couple of buttons. He had her number in his phone; she’d given it to him the day she was hired.

“If it starts ringing on the bottom of my purse, I’m going to feel really stupid.” She reached into the purse to shuffle around and powered off her phone before it could have gone off. Then she stopped searching and turned her attention back to him. “I have no idea where I put that thing.”

He waited with his phone to his ear. He wasn’t leering at her or staring at her breasts, which was out of character for him. He seemed thoughtful, in fact. Maybe he didn’t want to mess with Shep.

“Number unavailable,” he said as he put his phone away.

“Great.” She grimaced. “The battery probably ran down.” She moved toward him. “It might be in the back where I was taking my breaks. Or in the bathroom where I was changing.”

He didn’t look happy to see her there. In fact, his fat lips had a decidedly angry tilt to them. But then he seemed to make up his mind and stepped aside with a closed look on his face. “Hurry up. We’re restocking the liquor. We were just about to leave.”

“Thanks.” She pushed by him. “Shouldn’t take more than five minutes to run through the place.”

He locked the door behind them, the metallic click sending a twinge of unease up her spine. He probably just wanted to make sure nobody walked in while they were in the back.

Tank was coming from the direction of the basement. He threw Brian a questioning look. Brian shook his head.

Lilly kept smiling. “Hey, Tank. Can’t believe you have to work on Sundays. That bites, man.”

Tank didn’t comment, just turned around and went back the same way he’d come.

She checked around the stage first, trying to steal glances at the back hallway. The basement door was open, but she couldn’t see anyone coming and going.

Brian watched her wherever she went. “Doesn’t look like it’s here.”

“God, I hope you’re wrong. If it’s not here, then somebody already took it. I can’t afford a new phone. This was a good one. Paid for it from my last gig.” She went to the ladies’ room next, pushed through the swinging saloon doors in the corner by the jukeboxes.

Brian followed her. “Boyfriend of yours drove you over?”

She checked the stalls. “He’s off with his buddies somewhere.”

“Them rodeo cowboys never do well. Win a few purses, get hurt, get hooked on drugs, wash up in a couple of years. You could do better.” He watched her. “Friendly advice.”

She tried to take it lightly, even as more unease settled over her. “It’s not like we’re getting married. We’re just having fun while we’re both in town.”

Since he wouldn’t move, she had to brush by him to get out of the bathroom. “I’ll look behind the bar. I put my bag there while I was singing.”

Again, he followed, looking as if he was holding back anger. And, again, he seemed to put it away, as if coming to some sort of decision. “Want a beer? On the house.”

“Sure.” Whatever made him back off for a minute. He was creeping her out, frankly.

She made a show of looking behind the bar while he filled two glasses from the tap and slid one her way.

“Thanks.” She gave a deep sigh, then took a gulp. “It’s not here, either.”

“An iPhone?”

She nodded and drank some more, playing for time. She wanted to see who else was here beyond Brian and Tank. Maybe if she hung around long enough, someone else would come from the back. She was trying to figure out how to offer to help with the stocking without sounding suspicious.

“Those are expensive. Maybe you dropped it in the basement,” Brian said.

She thrilled to the suggestion. “Could be.” She would have loved it if he let her go down there. She wanted to take a look at what they were really doing here this time of the night.

She drained her glass so fast it would have made a cowboy proud, then headed for the basement door.

Of course, Brian was right behind her once again. “You said you sang in San Antonio before,” he was saying as he closed this door, too, behind them.

Even with the light on, the basement was poorly lit, smelling old and dank. She felt as if she was in some old castle dungeon. Goose bumps prickled on her skin.

“Which bar did you say?” he asked.

“Finnegan’s.” They’d set up a cover for her with the owner, should Brian call for a reference.

She reached the bottom of the stairs, and the main area of the basement opened up in front of her. The space was stacked with sealed, unmarked boxes, close to a hundred of them. When Shep had told her about his meeting down here with Tank, he said the boxes held bottles and were marked with various liquor logos. So this batch was something different.

She moved toward the boxes, making a show of scanning the floor, wishing she could find a way to look into one. She could hear Tank moving things around in one of the rooms. Then he came forward.

“You ever hang out at Finnegan’s when you go up to San Antonio?” Brian asked. “Our Lilly used to be their star attraction. How about that?”

Tank watched her darkly as he shrugged. “I’ve been there.”

“Ever see Lilly? You should have told me about her. I would have stolen her away sooner.”

Tank shook his head, still watching her. “My brother ain’t never heard of her, either, and he hangs out there nearly every night.”

Oh, hell.
She was beginning to feel as if this was some kind of a setup. She wanted to go back up, but Brian stood at the bottom of the staircase, blocking her way. God, she could have used some fresh air. The musty smell was turning her stomach.

His eyes narrowed at her. “You sure it was Finnegan’s?”

“I was only there for a few weeks. Might have been Frankie’s.” She gave a quick laugh. “Honestly, I was drunk half the time. They gave free beer to the band, too.”

Brian didn’t seem to think any of that was funny. He watched her stone-faced. “Better look for that phone. I’m ready to get out of here.”

Right. She moved around, scanned the ground, trying to ignore the two men and her growing sense of discomfort of being down here with them alone. Not only was she nauseous, she was beginning to feel dizzy, too.

Had to be the chipotle. If Jamie had taken her to a place that gave her food poisoning, she was going to have to revise her good opinion of him.

Tank lumbered back to his work in the room behind her.

But Brian wasn’t done questioning her yet, it seemed, because next he wanted to know “When were you down here that you could have lost the phone?”

“In between sets. Just stuck my head down, really. I was looking for you for something.” She covered the area, so she had to give up her pretend search. She made an unhappy face. “I don’t think it’s here.”

“I don’t think so, either. But we did find something that might belong to you.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bug.

“What’s that?” She gave a clueless look. Her head was swimming. Could food poisoning hit this fast? “That’s not my earring.”

The stone-faced look remained. “It’s not an earring, and I think you know that.”

She didn’t ask what it was, just went on with the puzzled look and leaned against the wall as a sudden wave of weakness hit her.

“It’s a bug,” Brian told her. “We do a sweep every Sunday. There’ve been only two strangers down here this week, you and your boyfriend.”

“Not really my boyfriend. We’re just hooking up.” She tried to keep it light and did her best not to let him see that she was becoming rapidly incapacitated.

“Who do you work for?”

She gave a nervous laugh as a scared singer might. “You. For now. I mean, I like it here. But I’m not the long-term-commitment kind. If you change your mind about me, I’ll just move on. There are a million small bars in the world.”

“I’m going to ask you only one more time. Who do you work for, darling?”

“Are you serious? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I better get going. I need to find that damn phone.” She turned toward the stairs.

But Brian’s arms snaked out faster than she’d ever seen him move and he grabbed her arm, yanked her back. “Are you a cop? CBP? Why in hell am I paying all that money if they still send their snoops around, dammit?” He looked openly angry now, even outraged.

He yanked her toward him.

She moved in with a self-defense maneuver, too slow as the basement spun with her. But she would have been free of the bastard the next second, anyway. Except Tank appeared behind her from out of nowhere and his meaty fist came down on the top of her head.

* * *

S
HE
DIDN
’
T
ANSWER
her phone. Shep swore as he waited for the interrogation room to free up. He didn’t like it when women did the holding-a-grudge thing. Men were so much simpler. Either they were okay with each other, or they settled their differences with their fists and then they were okay. She’d punched him. He let her. Why in hell was she still mad?

The current op was almost over. She blew back into his life for a short time, and she was about to blow back out. Good. He’d be able to focus 100 percent on the job again then. Except the thought made him miserable.

He didn’t want her to disappear. At least, he wanted to keep in touch. They couldn’t have a romantic relationship, but they could be...something. He needed to talk to her about that.

He shouldn’t have made love to her. He knew that, dammit. He shouldn’t have made the off-the-cuff marriage offer, either. Obviously, it wasn’t what she wanted. A good thing, since he hadn’t planned on getting married, ever.

He had no idea what had possessed him to blurt those words out like that. He needed to apologize again. He’d drive by her hotel in the morning, once he was done at the office.

Mo came out of the interrogation room with his guy and led him away. Shep went in with the next.

He clicked on the recorder, noted the man’s name and specifics, the date of the interrogation, then started with the questions. “Have you ever met with the Coyote?”

“No, man,” the twentysomething kid Lilly and he had picked up earlier said, looking as tired as Shep felt.

“What do you know about him?”

“He’s the boss of everyone, pretty much. You cross him, you disappear.” The kid made a slicing motion across his throat. “He’ll ground you to dust.”

“What’s his real name?”

The kid just laughed. “Right, dude. He stopped by my house just to tell me that.”

Shep asked another dozen questions. He received no helpful answers, no matter how hard he leaned on the guy.

He stood to stretch his legs. He could have pushed harder, but he was pretty sure the kid was telling the truth. The interrogations were a long shot. It was unlikely that any of the men they’d rounded up had information that would lead directly to the Coyote, but he had to try anyway.

They had the date and they had the place, but what they didn’t have was any confirmation and the Coyote’s true identity. They couldn’t afford any mistakes on this op, any crossed wires, any half-accurate intel. Being able to pick up the bastard for questioning sure would have helped.

Also, even if they caught the tangos sneaking over, who was to say more wouldn’t try with the Coyote’s help? The government needed that man in custody and permanently out of business.

“Do you know where Tank is?”

“I don’t even know who he is.”

Shep kept up with the questions, rotating the men in and out, consulting with Mo in between, until midnight, then went home to catch some sleep before his morning shift started.

On his way to the office, he drove by the hotel. Lilly wasn’t in her room, didn’t respond to his knocking. She still didn’t pick up her phone, either. He walked through the parking garage, but he couldn’t find her car.

He went to the front desk, but the guy there didn’t remember seeing her going out that morning.

On a hunch, Shep drove by the bar, checked front and back, but the bar was closed and neither Lilly nor her car were there as far as he could tell.

He switched to the monitoring app on his phone and accessed last night’s recording from the bar’s basement. Since the place had been closed, he didn’t expect much, but he wanted to check anyway. They couldn’t afford to overlook anything at this stage.

The program was set to skip silence and just go to sound. It wasn’t long before Lilly’s voice came through on Shep’s Bluetooth.

What in hell had she been doing there, alone, without telling him?

Anger punched through him, quickly turning to worry as he heard Brian say, “It’s a bug. We do a sweep every Sunday. There’ve only been two strangers down here this week, you and your boyfriend.” Then some more conversation, her protesting her innocence, then the unmistakable sounds of a scuffle.