Small-town Texas with high-stakes risks

Alice Green lives with ghosts. A rogue cop whose mistake led to the loss of a young girl’s parents, Alice is haunted by the decisions that halted her sterling career. And now the same girl who lost her parents has been abducted. And Alice will stop at nothing to find her.

Joshua O’Brien doesn’t want to tell his brothers—fellow inheritors of his deceased parents’ ranch—that he has bigger plans. Applying to work for the FBI brings the possibility of an exciting and illustrious career. But when he meets Alice, whose beauty is only surpassesd by her brain, it doesn’t take long for things to heat up. And while helping her crack a case might save a life…it could also cost him his own.

Cattlemen Crime Club

There was fire to her eyes now. Fire and spark. It was what he’d come to love about her. Hold on…

Love?

That was a strong word to describe his feelings.

“I had a choice just like everyone else. Bad things happen to good people all the time and whatever happens in childhood isn’t a child’s fault,” Alice said, and he already knew he was in trouble with her. “But the day I turned eighteen, I figured that I had a choice about my life. I could blame my rough situation on everyone else and be miserable. Or I could take charge of my life and find happiness. Not that I’m all that great about that last part. I make mistakes, but I’m giving my best effort.”

Alice stood toe-to-toe with him now. What she lacked in height she made up for in spirit.

“You didn’t answer my question,” he said. Staring into those blue eyes was like looking straight into the sun. He was going to get burned. He just didn’t know how badly yet.

One Tough Texan

Barb Han

www.millsandboon.co.uk

USA TODAY bestselling author BARB HAN lives in north Texas with her very own hero-worthy husband, three beautiful children, a spunky golden retriever/standard poodle mix and too many books in her to-read pile. In her downtime, she plays video games and spends much of her time on or around a basketball court. She loves interacting with readers and is grateful for their support. You can reach her at www.barbhan.com.

I feel hugely blessed to be a Harlequin author. Working with my editor, Allison Lyons, is truly better than any gift I’ve unwrapped during the holidays. The same rings true for my agent, Jill Marsal. Thank you both!

Merry Christmas to Brandon, Jacob and Tori. I love all three of you. I hope you always know how very much!

The best present in my life has been you, Babe. Thank you for always encouraging me to follow my dreams and enjoying every step of the way as much as I do. With you, every day feels like Christmas. I love you!

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

Joshua O’Brien eased his foot off the gas pedal. His Jeep shuddered before the power died. He was out of gas in a flash flood thirty miles from the family ranch in Bluff, Texas. He cursed his floating gas gauge as he pushed open the driver’s side door. Running two towns over to Harlan to pick up a box of donations to be auctioned off at his family’s annual Christmas Benefit wasn’t exactly his idea of an exciting Friday night. When the Nelson widow had opened the door in her red silk bathrobe and then offered him a nightcap, he’d been even less thrilled. Drawing the short straw to make that pickup—and deal with the seventy-year-old Mrs. Nelson—was just one in a long list of reasons that Joshua wasn’t cut out for the family business at the Longhorn Cattlemen Ranch and Rifleman’s Club and it made him miss his job in law enforcement that much more. Could he make his temporary leave permanent in order to stay on at the ranch? The decision could wait.

He shook off his bad luck, grabbed a gas container from the back and trudged through the ankle-deep water. According to his phone’s GPS, there should be a gas station a few blocks ahead. He figured he could walk there and back quicker than one of his brothers could drive into town from the ranch to get him so he set out on foot rather than make a call for help and admit his own stupidity.

It was the kind of pitch-black night outside that made it hard to see much past the end of his nose. His eyes would adjust in a few minutes. A bolt of lightning raced sideways across the sky, emphasizing layers of thick gray clouds as far as he could see. This storm wasn’t passing anytime soon. Joshua checked his surroundings. He’d passed the quarter acre cul-de-sac lots and was now walking past a field with overgrown grass. The bad weather must be keeping everyone indoors because the roads were empty. That meant no chance of hitching a ride.

A flash flood alert had already buzzed on his cell. If he hadn’t been distracted thinking about his parents’ murder investigation then he would’ve filled up the tank sooner, instead of sloshing through water that was rapidly gathering on the roads and sidewalks while wearing his good boots.

He still couldn’t think of a soul who’d want to harm his folks. His father, a self-made millionaire cattle rancher who’d owned a few thousand acres in Bluff, Texas, had built his business on handshakes and hard work. His mother, the matriarch of the family, was as kind as she was giving. Joshua and his five brothers had inherited the lion’s share of the family business, which included a successful rifleman’s club. A token share went to their aunt and uncle, same as it had been when his parents were alive. The brothers had voted to give a devoted worker a piece of the pie.

Joshua’s investigation experience told him to look at those who were closest to his parents, the ones who had the most to gain. Skills honed by Denver PD told him to look for motive, means and opportunity. The only people who stood to benefit from his parents’ murders were him and his brothers. None of his brothers had motive. Each was successful in his own right and the O’Briens had always been a loving, close-knit bunch. It couldn’t be one of them, which led Joshua to believe that someone had a beef with his parents. It was the only thing that made sense. And he drew a blank there, too. There were no secret affairs, no emotional dramas with friends. His parents were exactly as they appeared on the surface. Generous. Kind. Loving.

The sheriff was checking every angle. He was a close family friend and Joshua knew he was taking the news just as hard.

A warm glow, most likely a streetlight in the distance, meant Joshua was getting closer to the station. At least it wasn’t freezing cold outside like it had been recently. Christmas was three weeks away and weather this time of year was unpredictable.

Another bolt of lightning helped Joshua see that if he cut through the field he’d get to the station faster. He took a step onto the land and knee-deep grass. Heavy rain. Tall grass. Horrible luck. Looking down caused water to run off the rim of his Stetson, but he didn’t care. His eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness, which meant he’d been on foot for a solid fifteen minutes already. The station was ahead and he stepped up his pace through the field. As he made the clearing he noticed a teen, maybe sixteen years old based on her petite build, walking ahead of him. Was someone else stranded in this crazy weather?

She seemed a little young to be out walking on a night like this. He started to call out to her when a flash of lightning blazed across the sky and he caught sight of a man watching her intently from behind the trash bins of the gas station. Thunder rumbled in the distance and Joshua counted three seconds in between the flash and the noise. That meant lightning was right on top of them.

Joshua’s pulse spiked as he spotted another man crouching at the edge of the field as the unsuspecting teen kept bebopping along. She must have no idea the amount of danger she was about to walk into. And Joshua didn’t either because he counted a third man closing in on her from the east. How many others were there?

Based on the way she made the occasional stop to shake her arms or perform some other dance move, Joshua figured that she must be wearing earbuds. That wasn’t her brightest move for a couple of reasons. For one, she didn’t need to be wearing electronics in a storm. For another, it meant she wouldn’t hear him even if he screamed at the top of his lungs. That would, however, alert the men bearing down on her like hunters closing in on a quarry.

Damn, his shotgun was locked inside his Jeep.

Dropping to crouching position, Joshua tried to make himself as small as possible—not exactly easy with his six-foot-four-inch frame—as he shifted all his attention to the teen. She kept her head down. She was wearing jeans that were plastered to her legs and a couple layers of tank tops slick from rain.

And she had no idea what was about to go down.

The big question was how Joshua was going to get her out of this mess. Staying low was his best chance of not being noticed. He palmed his cell, moving closer. Could he call his friend Tommy Johnson, the sheriff? Probably not without being seen. The light from his phone could give him away. If the men saw him, he had no idea what they were capable of doing to him and the girl. Then again, an ill-timed bolt of lightning would have the same effect.

His Jeep was too far away to run back and get his shotgun. The men would be long gone with the girl. He focused on the teen as he moved closer to the gas station. She had a tiny frame and hair for days that she was trying to wrangle into a ponytail. Even wet he could see how thick it was. With her back turned, Joshua couldn’t see the details of her face, but the rest of her looked straight out of an Abercrombie & Fitch ad. Scanning the area, watching the men, Joshua knew that this was a coordinated kidnapping attempt. Outnumbered by at least three to one, Joshua calculated the odds of getting to her and they weren’t good.

Could he use the darkness to cloak them both? One wrong move and he’d be exposed. She wouldn’t have a chance on her own. He needed a plan and yet there was no time to make one. If the men got to her first it would be all over. No way could he handle three against one without a weapon of his own. He’d turned in his service weapon and had stopped carrying his backup since he spent most of his time with cattle on the ranch.

Joshua glanced down at the gas container in his hand, sloshing around what little leftover contents were at the bottom. There hadn’t been enough to get him to the gas station, but there might be enough to create a diversion. Distract the men for a few seconds and grab the teen. If he could get her into the convenience store safely there’d be shelter and witnesses. That should scare these guys off. He hoped.

Joshua tucked away his cell and then fished his emergency lighter from the front pocket of his denim jacket. With all this water coming down everywhere, he needed something that he could use as a wick. Nothing was dry.

Lighting the plastic container on fire right next to him was too much of a risk. He cleared an area, poured a little of the gasoline out and then rolled several times until he was a few feet from the container.

Joshua flicked his lighter and then tossed it toward the spot. He didn’t wait for it to light up, he bolted toward the teenager.

As the blaze ignited, Joshua wrapped an arm around her waist.

Maybe it was fear that had her frozen but he’d expected a fight. He noted that her struggle was weak at best. Shouldn’t she be biting and kicking to get away? Other than a little squirming, she wasn’t doing much to help herself. Joshua was even more grateful that he was there to help.

He sprinted toward the gas station. Lightning struck as he scrambled onto the lot, illuminating the man by the trash bins. Joshua could see the guy’s face clearly and the dude was looking right at Joshua. Not only was his gaze fixed, but he made a move toward a weapon, a gun maybe, as Joshua barreled around the corner, memorizing the details of the guy’s face in the light. He had black-as-night hair, and an oval-shaped face. His eyes were set wide and his nose prominent. His eyebrows were bushy, his forehead large and he had a decent amount of scruff on his chin. His face was familiar but Joshua couldn’t place it.

Then he heard someone cussing at him, realized it was coming from the teen as she started actually fighting. Good for her.

“You’re okay. I’m not going to hurt you,” Joshua said, trying to reassure her. She must be confused and scared as he rounded the corner.

“I didn’t think you were, jerk,” she shot back.

What the...? Not the reaction he was expecting but then she was probably still in shock.

“Put me down,” she demanded. Her voice was a study in calm.

“Not so fast,” he said, scrambling inside the station.

Her response came in the form of twists and turns so quick he almost lost his grip around her tiny waist. Her elbow slammed into his ribs. Did she want to be taken by those scumbags?

“Call nine-one-one,” Joshua managed to say to the attendant as he shot down an aisle, trying to recover from the blow and stay on his feet. His law enforcement training had kicked in and adrenaline was on full-tilt. He’d lock them in the bathroom until help arrived.

Joshua managed to open the door to the men’s room even though the teen was fighting him like a wild banshee. Her freeze response sure made a wide turn into fight mode in a hurry.

“Cut it out. I’m trying to help, if you hadn’t noticed,” he said through heavy breaths. She wasn’t making it easy, either.

He stuffed her inside the bathroom with him and then locked the door. “Those men weren’t exactly trying to take you to prom.”

Joshua heard a familiar noise and realized he shouldn’t have turned his back on her. He whirled around. There she stood. A Glock aimed at the center of his chest.

Now didn’t that just make this night even better?

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked, noticing how off his initial assessment of the teen, the woman, had been. Strips of hair clung to her neck even though most of her blond mane was in a ponytail. She had piercing crystal-blue eyes—eyes that shone like he was looking across the surface of Diamondhead Lake at first light—and she had thick, dark lashes. Her body had more curves than he’d initially realized; he’d felt those the second he’d picked her up. They were easier to ignore when he thought she was sixteen. She was closer to his age, so around thirty and his throat went dry despite water dripping from him everywhere.

She was soaked, crown to toe, and as much as Joshua didn’t like it, he felt a surge of attraction. All of which was overridden by the anger coursing through him. Even though she put up a good fight, he disarmed her quickly and then wrestled her against the wall before she could make a dive for her weapon that he’d sent sprawling across the floor.

His body had that same irritating sexual reaction when it was pressed up against hers. He captured her wrist as she nailed him in the chest and then he caught her other as it rose up in a fist. He pinned both of her hands above her head. Big mistake, a) because the move caused her breasts to rise and press against his chest harder, and b) because her knee shot up quickly.

Joshua pinned her thigh with his before she could knee him where no man wanted to be kneed.

“What’s your problem, lady?” he asked, staring into furious blue eyes.

* * *

“BACK OFF. YOU HAVE no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into,” Alice Green said, fuming that this guy had disarmed her so quickly. She was exhausted and getting rusty now that she’d been off the job for the past six weeks, having dedicated herself solely to finding Isabel. “And let go of me.”

The cowboy might be the epitome of tall, gorgeous and chivalrous but his good deed had just cost her the investigation. Alice cursed.

This was the closest she’d been to Marco Perez, aka The Ghost, in days. She’d spent long weeks before that researching crime rings to narrow it down this far, and had been abducted by two other criminal organizations. The last time she’d seen her boys was Thanksgiving Day. Since then, she’d been choked, punched and stabbed. And it had come down to The Ghost as her last chance to find Isabel.

Alice had put herself out there as bait, using her informant to plant the seed and set up the kidnapping. It had been difficult undercover work and had taken more patience than she realized she had. Perez’s organization finally bit and this jerk had just messed up weeks of damn fine police work in sixty seconds. Well, if she’d still been on the force.

Alice was furious. And frustrated. And she could think of another word she’d like to drop when it came to the cowboy’s actions but it wouldn’t do any good. The fact that he was acting on goodwill was the only reason she didn’t completely unleash hell on him.

“I have to go,” she managed to get out through clenched teeth. If the task force found out what she was up to after being warned to stay away she’d lose everything, including her twin boys. “Thanks for going all Dudley Do-Right on me but I need to follow those men out there.”

Tall, Dark and Cowboy cocked an eyebrow. “I’m sure the police would be happy to help as soon as they get here.”

“I don’t have time to lose,” she countered. “They’re getting away as we speak.”

“Then tell me what’s going on and I’ll consider letting up,” he said, staring her straight in the eye.

She ignored the shiver racing up her arms, chalking up her goose bumps to being soaked to the bone in an air conditioned bathroom. Didn’t the worker believe in turning on the heat?

Telling the truth wasn’t an option. Fighting didn’t help. She’d have to take another approach.

Alice relaxed her body against the strong cowboy, looking up at him with her most sincere expression as she prepared a lie. “I’m sorry. Thank you for helping me. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t been there. That guy out there is my ex and I really need to know what he’s up to for the sake of our boys.”

Shock registered in the cowboy’s eyes. He had a rare combination of green eyes and black hair—no, black wasn’t a good enough word—it was more like onyx.

Water dripped from his thick black eyelashes and his tight curls. She could tell that he’d been wearing a hat, and in this part of the country that meant a Stetson. He was tall, six feet four inches would be her best guess. Based on the ripples running down his chest, she’d say the guy spent serious time at the gym. His hands were rough, which meant he worked outside. But not too rough, telling her that he hadn’t been doing it for long.

“Are you telling me you know that guy?” he asked and she could tell he wasn’t buying her story.

“Intimately.” It was easy to sell that last part because it was the truth. Alice did know more details about Marco Perez’s life than she ever wanted to about any criminal on the loose. He was the head of a large-scale kidnapping ring known for selling teenage girls or using them for baby farms. He was also most likely long gone by now. His ability to disappear and make every witness around him do the same had earned him The Ghost moniker.

Alice couldn’t afford to explain herself to law enforcement. They’d run her name and she’d be discovered. She had to protect her identity.

“What’s your name?” she asked. If she could bait this guy into casual conversation she had a chance at making it out of there before the cops arrived. With her arms hauled over her head the cowboy was in the power position.

“Joshua O’Brien,” he said. “Now it’s your turn.”

It was a statement, not a question and she figured that she was grossly underestimating this guy.

“Will you let me go if I tell you, Joshua?” She’d used his name on purpose. Get him talking, get him comfortable and she could break out of his grasp.

“Maybe,” he said.

“I’m Alice,” she responded. The cops would be banging on that door in a matter of minutes in a best-case scenario...a matter of seconds in her worst nightmare. In no way could Alice allow that to happen. She’d be taken to jail and her reputation, as well as her career, would be over. As it was she could still return to the force after she located Isabel and brought her home safely.

Sirens wailed in the distance, which meant cops were getting closer. She needed to move faster with the cowboy in order to get away. Or distract him long enough to...

The chance presented itself, so she took it.

The cowboy had loosened his grip. Alice drew her knee up and tagged him as hard as she could in the groin.

She dropped and spun, breaking free from his grasp. A sweep of her right leg and he stumbled to catch himself.

He recovered quickly using the wall to redirect his weight, but he wasn’t fast enough.

Alice pulled her backup weapon, a Glock G42 .380 pocket pistol, from her ankle holster. “Hands where I can see ’em, cowboy.”

He righted himself and complied.

Now all she had to do was walk out that door and never look back. She made a move toward it and then stopped, a bout of conscience eating at her. It was her fault that the cowboy was in this mess. He’d seen Perez. Worse yet, The Ghost had seen the cowboy.

No one lived who could describe Perez. He was one of the most ruthless criminals in the country and he protected his identity with the ferocity of a starved lion.

But how could Alice protect her own identity and spare the cowboy’s life?

Chapter Two

Alice’s voice was high-pitched and had that listen-up-or-I’ll-shoot quality. The attitude registered with Joshua as law enforcement. Was she on the job? Alice had that same swagger he’d seen in the officers he knew; granted hers was a heck of a lot sexier than theirs. Based on her reactions so far she was covering something—something big. She wasn’t breaking the law, or at least not currently, so he was even more confused by the fact that she was adamant about not bringing in the police. He figured this wasn’t the time to tell her about his law enforcement background or the fact that he had an application in at the FBI—a fact he hadn’t shared with his brothers yet. He shoved the guilty feeling aside. He’d deal with that later.

“I’m running out of time. Word of advice. Forget what I look like,” she barked. “And forget all the details about tonight.”

Joshua put his hands up, palms flat, in surrender mode. “Sorry. Too late for that. But it’s not for you. You haven’t done anything wrong.”

She shot him another look that told him he didn’t have a clue.

“I’m serious about this next part so listen up. When the law arrives, tell them that you’re being hunted by Marco Perez. Do you hear me?” she asked with seriousness in her voice that left no room for question.

He nodded, keeping watch on her and the door while tamping down his reaction to the name she’d just thrown out. The name Marco Perez was on every watch list and that’s why his face had looked familiar.

“Also, and I can’t stress this next part enough, you need to surrender to protective custody. Tell the sheriff what I said about seeing Perez and he’ll arrange everything.”

“We can talk this through and get help for you.” Joshua wasn’t ready to tip his hand about his own background, especially since she hadn’t figured him out.

She shook her head.

“This whole situation can be sorted out. You don’t have to keep running. Nothing is as bad as it seems,” he added, trying to stall. She was the one who needed protection and most likely a skilled attorney.

“I know he saw you,” she said, backing toward the door, keeping her intense gaze on him. “And he’ll come back for you. Mark my words. No one who has ever seen Perez in action has lived to tell about it.”

“Whatever it is you think you need to do...don’t,” Joshua said. He didn’t need to be reminded of that rumor about Perez. His gaze bounced from the gun that had been tossed onto the floor to her again. He’d protect himself from Perez. Who did she have?

She made a move to open the door, keeping a close eye on him.

Joshua had no plans to be shot in the men’s room of a gas station. That wasn’t even a good cliché.

“Hold on,” he said, trying out that same authoritative voice she’d used on him a few minutes ago. It was his cop voice.

Her gaze kept bouncing from him to the door, and instincts honed from years of police work told him she was about to flee. Given that she was obviously in some kind of trouble, even though she seemed more concerned about him at the moment, he needed to act fast or she’d disappear and he couldn’t help her. Joshua held out his wrists. “Fine. You win. Take me into protective custody.”

She balked.

“You need someone in law enforcement to do that,” she said in that crisp, do-as-I-say-and-don’t-ask-why voice and he’d be darned if it didn’t sound sexy coming from her. With everything going on around them he shouldn’t even notice. Being turned on by a woman who’d pulled a gun on him twice now wasn’t his brightest move.

Then again, she was beautiful and his body reacted with a mind of its own. Logic had nothing to do with it.

“You’re right about that. I do need someone in law enforcement to put me in protective custody.” He didn’t budge. “And since your cover is blown, it might as well be you.”

The only thing he couldn’t figure out was why she wasn’t coming clean about being on the job. Best he could figure she’d been on some kind of detail, which made more sense as to why she fought when she did earlier. Was she in the middle of an undercover operation? Then again, if she was wouldn’t she want police protection now?

Not necessarily. If she was in deep, she’d want to stay that way. Before he could raise another argument, she slipped out the door. He immediately bolted toward it but she’d managed to secure it with something on the other side.

Joshua muttered a curse as he pulled out his cell. Explaining this whole scenario to his friend Tommy ensured that he’d be ribbed about this forever. He’d allowed himself to be locked inside a bathroom while the “teen” he’d been trying to save got away.

Best case scenario? Tommy was already pulling up in front of the gas station. The door opened at the same time Tommy’s line rang.

“Turn that thing off.” The mystery woman had returned. The business end of her gun pointed squarely at his chest. “And my name’s Alice Green.”

“If you’re running from the law, it wasn’t your best move to come back,” Joshua said flatly.

“I know that. So, don’t make me regret it.” There was something else in her eyes this time. Fear?

Curious, Joshua ended the call. He didn’t know what she’d gotten herself into but preferring a murderous criminal’s company to the sheriff’s didn’t signal good things about her head being on straight.

“You have to decide right now,” she said, her gaze bouncing from him to the hallway leading to the store as the sound of sirens moved closer.

He didn’t budge.

“Please.” There was a desperate quality in her eyes that tugged at his heart. She could’ve shot him twice now and hadn’t so he figured she wasn’t planning to hurt him. And he was more than mildly curious what she was really up to.

“Okay. But you’re going to tell me what this is about,” he said, bending over to retrieve the weapon they’d discarded earlier.

“Don’t even think about it,” she said as he made a motion to pick it up.

“I leave it here and they finger you immediately.” If it was her service weapon then they could trace the serial number. Joshua at least wanted to hear what she had to say before he hauled her in to Tommy. He might even be able to convince her to turn herself in and that would make things a lot easier on her legally. But then, she would already know that.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“Do you live nearby or have a ride anywhere around here?” She kept a brisk pace as round two of pouring rain flooded them.

“Yeah, my Jeep’s a couple blocks away. But it won’t do any good.”

“Why not?” she asked, navigating them out of the dark parking lot as the sound of sirens neared.

Either she or Perez had shot the light out in back of the convenience store and his money was on her. “Out of gas.”

She muttered a curse as she led him into the field.

“Stay low,” she directed.

“You know that clerk can give the police our descriptions,” Joshua hedged.

“He was too surprised to pay attention. He won’t be able to give them anything more than a general idea. You’re tall and that might mean something outside of Texas but all the men seem over six feet here. Plus, we rushed in and straight to the back without showing our faces. No way will that young kid be able to give them anything they can work with and any recording will be too grainy to make out,” she responded matter-of-factly.

More proof that she knew a little too much about the process to hold up her claim of not being in law enforcement. Plus, he picked up on the fact that she was from out of state because of her height reference. No one in Texas really thought about whether or not six feet was tall.

“Why are you running?” Joshua asked.

“I’m not,” she dismissed him.

“Maybe the appropriate question is, Who are you running from?” It couldn’t be Perez since she was trying to be captured by him. She’d said they had boys together, another reason he should ignore any sexual current flowing between them. Once they were safe he’d ask her about her family situation.

“Stay down and be quiet if you want to get out of here alive,” she said, irritation lining her tone.

Since Alice, if that was her name, was already belly down he figured he’d better do the same. She’d holstered her weapon and that reminded him of the fact she wore an ankle holster in the first place. No one did that outside law enforcement.

“Where are you from?” he asked.

“Tucson,” she said.

“Why are you really here?” he asked, retrieving his hat.

“I already told you,” she said. “My ex.”

“You can drop the act,” Joshua said, not bothering to hide the fact he was done with lies. Besides, the thought of her returning for an ex stirred a different reaction inside him—jealousy? “Nobody and especially not me believes you came all the way out here to be abducted by the father of your children.”

He intended to find out what she was really up to and how much of what she’d said was the truth.

* * *

WAITING FOR OFFICERS to clear out of the gas station while lying belly down in two inches of water wasn’t Alice’s idea of a great Friday night. Then again, being dumped by the father of her twins two weeks before the babies had arrived hadn’t been, either. Fridays were right up there with poking her eyes with hot sticks.

Soaked to the bone, she shivered as she waited for the cruiser to leave the gas station. The cold front that had been promised was moving in. Experience told her that the clerk hadn’t actually witnessed a crime so there wouldn’t be much to investigate. A deputy would take a statement, file a report and move on. Then, he or she would keep an eye out for anything suspicious in the area for the rest of the night.

The deputy left ten minutes after he’d arrived.

“Take my jacket,” Joshua said, sitting up, water sloshing as it rolled off him and hit the puddle on the ground.

“It’s okay. I can handle it,” she said quickly. Being on the force, Alice had learned not to admit weakness. Officers depended on one another in life-threatening situations and being a woman she felt that she had to prove herself even more so than male officers. Men had a height and weight advantage, and they tended to be stronger. Alice wasn’t the tallest person at five feet four inches and she’d been mistaken for a teenager by people approaching from behind more than once while wearing street clothes. She’d had to work hard to compensate for her size differential.

“Your teeth are chattering,” the cowboy said. And his tone almost made her laugh out loud. He sounded almost offended that she hadn’t accepted his chivalry.

A female cop coming off as needy or not being able to pull her weight killed her career before it got started. It was a certain way to make the officer next to her wonder if she could come through in a clutch and since lives were at stake everyone took that seriously. So, even if it made her look stupid or she caught the death of a cold later she couldn’t accept his jacket.

“Believe it or not, I can take care of myself and I have been for a long time. I don’t need your charity,” she quipped defensively. Spending time with this cowboy was going to be fun. If by fun she meant stabbing her fingers with a serrated knife.

“Suit yourself,” came out about as flat as her pancakes.

Hey, it was the twenty-first century. Women weren’t slaves to the kitchen anymore. And that was pretty much how she defended her lack of cooking skills. She could, however, make one mean pot of coffee. And wasn’t that more important anyway? “The gas container you used to create a diversion earlier should be around here somewhere.”

“Yep.”

Great, now they were at one-word answers. She’d spent enough time around the opposite sex to know that she’d offended him, didn’t have time to care. He was alive. He could thank her later. “Think you can find it?”

“Of course.”

At least he was up to two words now.

Maybe she should’ve left him back at the station. Except that she was responsible for getting him into this mess in the first place and she couldn’t let him get himself killed given that he was genuinely trying to help her. And stupidity could be deadly.

Joshua was a liability.

She needed to convince him just how much danger he was in and that he needed to turn himself in. There was a reason she’d saved Perez’s organization for last. People didn’t walk away after they saw him. He had no qualms about erasing a threat, real or perceived. Precisely the reason he was considered one of, if not the most ruthless criminal in the United States.

It was getting late. The trail was a dead end now. Alice was starving and she needed to get back to her motel room to bunk down for the night while she came up with plan B. She also needed to touch base with her informant and let him know everything had gone south.

Pushing up to her feet proved more of a challenge than she expected. She landed down on her bottom pretty darn quick with a splash.

The cowboy was by her side in a half second, helping her to her feet.

“I haven’t slept in a few days,” she said quickly and a little too sharply.

“Yeah? Even Superwoman needs rest.”

She didn’t say anything and the cowboy didn’t budge.

“When was the last time you had a decent meal?” he asked, standing so close that her body was aware of his every breath.

“It’s been a while. I got distracted tracking this lead,” she quipped. Exhaustion was taking a toll and she couldn’t help herself. Her tone tended toward being harsh in a situation like this. “Thanks for the hand up, by the way.”

“No problem. You don’t have to sound like I broke your arm.”

What? Did she? Okay, that did make her feel bad. She wasn’t trying to be a jerk.

The cowboy chuckled as he turned and walked away.

Oh, so he had a sense of humor. Under different circumstances, Alice might actually laugh. Searching for Isabel nonstop for the past six weeks had brought her to the brink of exhaustion. Then there were the twins. Two baby boys who had one speed...blazing. She missed her boys so fiercely it had physically hurt since she’d left home three weeks ago on a hot tip.

Isabel Guillermo had disappeared two months before her sixteenth birthday. And it was Alice’s fault. Before that, Isabel had been placed into the foster care system. Also Alice’s fault. Because Alice had had a bad day at work, Isabel’s parents were dead. Again, Alice’s fault.

A sweet and innocent teen’s world had shattered because a criminal got one over on Alice. Her mistake had cost Sal and Patsy Guillermo their lives. Alice should’ve been more aware.

She shook off the reverie, focusing on the cowboy instead. Not only had he already located the canister, but he was standing perfectly still, studying her.

Alice pulled out her cell, grateful the downpour should provide enough of a curtain between them to mask her true emotions, and covered it with her free hand to shield it from the rain.

“We need to find another gas station,” was all she managed to say. Thinking about Isabel’s case, about the past few weeks, had her missing her boys. Her heart ached and she wanted to be with them. But what kind of mother could she ever be to them if she didn’t find Isabel?

* * *

“ANYONE EXPECTING YOU at home?” Alice asked the cowboy as he took his seat in the Jeep after hiking for what felt like half the night to get gas. She needed to know if she’d just put a family in danger and that’s the reason she told herself she asked. His ride wasn’t tricked out for mudding so she figured it was his commute vehicle.

“No.”

Why did that one word make her heart flutter?

Ignoring it, Alice thought about her next move. Going back to get him had been impulsive and dangerous. She couldn’t afford to take unnecessary risks or rack up collateral damage. The cowboy would have to go with her to her motel room. She hoped that he remained cooperative so she could talk sense into him.

“Where to?” He turned the key in the ignition and the engine came to life.

“Take Highway 287 out of town,” she said, rubbing her temples.

“Mind if I stop for food first? There won’t be anything once we leave town and it’s not like you can order pizza from The Bluff Motel.”

“How did you know where we were going?” She snapped her head to the left to get a good look at him.

“Not a lot of options around here.”

Okay. Fine. He had her on that point.

“There a drive-thru nearby?” She needed something to eat and she could always hide in the backseat so no one saw her. Perez had eyes everywhere and she didn’t want to risk anyone seeing the two of them together. No one should be looking for her, Perez or otherwise, at least not officially. Her SO had been texting for her return to work and to make sure she wasn’t interfering with a federal investigation. She hadn’t exactly broken any laws unless she counted unauthorized tampering with the National Crime Information Center—NCIC—database. As far as technicalities went, she wasn’t exactly hacking into the system. She was just doing a little side research project.

Her stomach rumbled from hunger and her side ached. She needed to re-dress her stab wound, a gift from the last crime ring she’d infiltrated.

“We can zip through the line in a few minutes,” he said, pulling into a burger stand parking lot.

“Okay.” Eat. Rest. Talk the cowboy into witness protection. How hard could it be to convince someone to give up the only life they knew because of a perceived threat from a stranger?

“And then you’ll come clean with why you’re tracking one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in the country,” the cowboy said with law enforcement authority.

Chapter Three

The motel room was basic but comfortable. There were two full-size beds with a nightstand in between, a small table with two chairs near a picture window, and a dresser with an old-fashioned TV. Joshua would bet money there was a bible in the top drawer. The floral pattern in this room was bluebonnets, a nod to the state flower, and they were on the curtain and both bedspreads. The floor was tiled in a neutral shade.

One of the bedspreads was rumpled and the other bed was being used as a makeshift office. Papers were spread out across the comforter and there was a laptop along with a couple of cell phones and a small technological device that Joshua figured was for surveillance.

“Let’s talk about your options,” Alice said after she’d finished the last bite of her burger and drained her Coke. She wadded up the wrapper and tossed it in the trash. They’d toweled off and she’d changed into dry clothes.

Joshua couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen someone wolf down food so fast, and that was saying a lot given that he had five brothers.

“Or you could tell me what’s really going on. Why you’re on the run from the police,” he countered, motioning toward the second bed, not ready to tip his own hand.

“I’m not—”

He put a hand up to stop her. “If you don’t want to tell me why you’re in this mess we’ll bunk down for the night and I’ll leave you alone in the morning. I have no interest in playing games.”

The woman needed rest and the only reason he stuck around was because he figured she’d be crazy enough to follow him if he left her alone. Or so he lied to himself. There was more to it than that. He wasn’t ready to acknowledge whatever “it” was because she mostly frustrated him.

She slipped off her shoes, settled against the headboard on the second bed and pinched her nose like she was trying to stem a headache. “I’m trying to find a young girl. It’s my fault she’s missing and, therefore, my responsibility to get her back.”

Joshua turned his chair around to face her and clasped his hands, resting his elbows on his knees.

“She disappeared six weeks ago and I’ve been searching for her ever since. With each passing day, her odds crash...” There was so much anguish in her voice that Joshua had to fight the urge to cross the room and pull her into his arms to comfort her. She’d probably poke him in the eyes if he did, he thought dryly, remembering how unwelcomed his attempts to make her feel better had been so far. She’d been clear on where she stood when it came to accepting help or being pitied. She’d taken a zero-tolerance stance.

“How old is she?”

Alice’s eyes were closed now and distress was written all over her features. “Almost sixteen.”

He couldn’t even go there mentally...a place where one of his family members had disappeared. Two of his grown brothers had had brushes with death in recent months and that was enough to keep Joshua on full alert. They were adults capable of handling themselves. But a sixteen-year-old?

He flexed his fingers to keep his hands from fisting.

“I’m sorry,” he said and meant it. Her admission explained a lot about why she’d be staying in an out-of-town motel, alone. “What happened?”

“She was around one day and then not the next.” She opened her eyes and fixed her gaze on the wall directly in front of her. “You asked about me being on the job before. I used to be until this happened.”

“You left to investigate this girl’s disappearance?” he asked, thinking there were at least a half dozen scenarios where he would’ve done exactly the same thing.

She nodded.

“Why not do both?”

“We weren’t getting anywhere on the investigation and my boss wanted my full attention on the job. I agreed, but on my own time I had to do everything I could to find her. The longer she was gone...well, let’s just stay statistics weren’t—aren’t on her side. After three weeks of red tape and netting zero following procedure, I figured I could get a lot further my own way.”

As a cop she’d have to follow procedure to a T when all she really wanted to do was find the girl and bring her home. She wasn’t interested in prosecution and laws would get in the way.

“Did you quit the force?”

“Took an extended leave,” she said. “But I have no idea if I’ll have a job when I return. The chief threatened me and told me not to interfere with an ongoing investigation.”

“Bet you’ve covered a lot more distance than they have,” Joshua said. A flicker crossed her features. Regret? Anxiety?

What was she holding back?

“I wouldn’t know,” she said, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. She bit back a yawn. “This guy I’ve been tracking is the real deal. He is going to come looking for you. It’s not a matter of if, but when.”

“He won’t find me tonight,” Joshua said. “He’s probably still looking for the cute blond teenage girl who got away.”

She laughed but her amusement disappeared too quickly. She zeroed in on him. “I’m serious. This guy is nothing to joke about. He’s ruthless and no one has lived after catching him in action.”

Joshua balked. “And you were trying to get him to take you so you could investigate this girl’s disappearance?”

“Yes.”

“That makes you either stupid or brave. I can’t decide which.” He admired her dedication. He also noted that it would take a whole lot of guilt to make a cop walk away from her job. “How many other organizations have you done this with?”

“Several.”

“And that led you to Perez’s group?”

She fixed her gaze on the ceiling. “He’s my last hope of finding her and I tracked down a lead that says he’s the one who took her.”

“I’m guessing you saved him for last on purpose based on how dangerous he is.” Joshua wasn’t worried about being exposed to Perez. He wouldn’t be sticking around in Bluff for long anyway. He’d been searching for the right time to tell his family that he had no plans to live out his life on the cattle ranch. Granted, he loved the land but he’d applied for a job in the FBI and had every intention of picking up his life where he’d left off once things were settled. A cranky little voice in the back of his mind asked, Then why haven’t you told anyone yet?

The truth? He resented everyone’s assumption that he’d drop everything and change his life. His older brothers might be fine with doing that, hell, they’d all spread out and made their own millions with successful businesses. They’d proven their worth as men. But Joshua was just getting going on his future. To have that stripped away just as it was getting good wasn’t in the plans. As much as he loved his brothers, they wouldn’t understand. His only regret—and it kept him awake at night—had been that he hadn’t stepped up and told his father before he was gone.

Joshua had known on some level that his father wouldn’t have liked his plan so he kept on living a lie, thinking that the right time to bring up the subject would magically present itself. The worst part was that the old man would never have expressed his disapproval. He was a good father. There was no way he’d make Joshua feel obligated. But Joshua had seen the look of excitement in his father’s eyes last year when he’d told the boys about the plan to have them work the land he loved so much. He’d built a small empire for his sons from nothing. Rejecting his father’s offer would make Joshua feel a lot like he was rejecting the man, his legacy.

Selfish as it might have been, Joshua hadn’t wanted to see disappointment in his father’s eyes. Now it was too late and he felt trapped.

“I thought I was alone with Perez and his men in that location. Never saw you coming,” Alice admitted.

“How’d you know he’d be there?” he asked, redirecting his thoughts to something he could fix.

“I’d tracked him to the area based on a meeting he’d set up to talk to someone about a new transportation route and so I used an informant to plant a tip. I knew that if he could get me on Perez’s radar that I’d have a good chance of becoming his target. My informant had already told me that Perez had a buyer for a sixteen-year-old blonde, so he set me up.”

She’d fit the clean-cut American teenager to a T. Even now with her blue-striped pajama pants and white tank, she looked years younger. Her hair was drying and the rubber band looked barely able to contain her waves.

“And then you came along and...” She didn’t say that he’d ruined it but he could tell based on her expression that’s exactly what she was thinking.

“If I interrupted your plan to be kidnapped by one of the most dangerous men in the country, then I’m glad I came along when I did,” Joshua said. He pointed to her right side below her armpit where blood flowered. “How bad is that?”

She glanced down and panic flitted across her face as she hopped up. “Oh.”

“Don’t move. You’ll only make it worse.” He glanced around the small room looking for some kind of emergency kit. “You have first aid supplies?”

“Not much. I meant to pick some up.”

“Hold on.” He ran out to the Jeep and retrieved his, shivering in the cold. The temperature must’ve dropped fifteen degrees in the last hour alone. On the ranch, he never knew when he’d need first aid so he’d gotten in the habit of keeping supplies on hand wherever he went.

The thunder had eased and the rain was coming down in a steady beat. He planned to head out at first light as soon as he knew she’d be okay.

Joshua returned to the room a few minutes later and found Alice as he’d left her. Head against the headboard with her eyes shut. Since her hand was closed around her Glock, he didn’t want to startle her.

He moved closer so that he could disarm her if need be. He didn’t take her skills lightly. She was good with a weapon but he was better. Couple that with the fact that exhaustion was slowing her reaction time and he had the edge he needed.

Her eyes snapped open the second the bed dipped under his weight.

“It’s me,” he said, his hand covering hers on the weapon as she brought it up. Physical contact sent a different kind of heat through him. A sexual attraction wasn’t appropriate or wanted, especially under the circumstances.

She apologized and then shook her head.

“How long has it been since you’ve had a good night’s sleep?” he asked. There were other more pressing questions he needed to ask, but he reminded himself not to get too personal with someone he would never see again after tonight. Because he had every intention of helping her and then getting back to the ranch to deal with his own problems.

“A while, I guess.”

“What else do you know about Perez?” he asked to distract her as he lifted her shirt enough to see where the blood came from. He was worried about Alice. He peeled back the bloody bandage to reveal a two-inch gash three inches below her armpit.

“Most of these criminal rings take girls from places where huge crowds are gathered, like the Super Bowl. Not Perez. He searches for just the right one, looks for a certain kind and mostly prefers all-American types. He seems to have a particular affinity for blondes although Isabel—” she flashed her eyes at him as he cleaned the blood off the cut and then she continued “—that’s her name, is a brunette. I can see why he’d take her, though, because she’s a beautiful girl.”

There was probably no way he could convince Alice to follow him to the ranch until he could dig deeper into the situation and things settled down. Her eyes were pure blue steel and determination and she’d left behind a job she loved to track down this girl. This was the closest she’d been to getting answers and he highly doubted he could convince her to slow down.

“Innocent girls and blondes fetch a higher price. His target age range is twelve to sixteen years old.” She winced.

He apologized as he finished cleaning her wound, warning her that the next part might hurt more. “I’d be happy to take you to the ER.”

Her head was already shaking before he could finish his sentence.

“Those are practically babies,” Joshua ground out, thinking about what she said about the girls. Anger bit through his normally easygoing nature.

She nodded. “He likes to target places where there won’t be a lot of extra security or cameras. Remote spots in small towns like this.”

Joshua blotted her wound with fresh antibiotic ointment on a clean piece of gauze.

“Then, he sells them to various jerks or uses them to farm babies for high-profit adoptions,” she said.

Didn’t this conversation just spike Joshua’s blood pressure in two seconds flat? No matter how many years he spent on the job he’d never get used to people who hurt children. He shook his head as he placed a new bandage over her cut.

“I learned that several of his girls have been used for the sole purpose of being impregnated and then held captive through multiple pregnancies,” she continued.

Joshua knew all about those sickening operations. He’d get more information out of Alice if she believed he was a civilian. He pretended to be hearing this for the first time even though he didn’t feel right deceiving her. “Do I want to know what Perez does once he...uses the girls?”

“Dumps the bodies once he’s made enough from the babies and the girls start to become liabilities,” she said with an involuntary shudder. “And that’s just one of the things they could be doing with her. Perez has been known to sell them to a high bidder, which is why he likes a specific look. He knows the market and what his customers like. He gets a sense for their taste and then snatches a few girls to give a ‘client’ options.”

Joshua had learned even more about illegal adoption rings when his oldest brother Dallas got involved with a woman whose baby was almost abducted before Halloween. Thankfully, Kate and baby Jackson were doing fine and Joshua figured a wedding announcement would be coming soon since Dallas and Kate had fallen in love during the process.

“I can’t imagine the kind of monster it would take to do something like this to children,” Joshua said, and then apologized as soon as he realized that Isabel was most likely in the hands of someone like that. By now, she could be pregnant, abused or dead. And that explained the worry lines etched in Alice’s forehead. Being on the job, she would know firsthand what a deviant like Perez would do. And Joshua hated seeing her go through something like this when she should be home with Isabel, doing normal stuff girls do this time of year like holiday shopping.

“No need to be sorry,” she said. “Believe me, it won’t help Isabel.”

“How do you know she didn’t run away? Maybe she needed a change of scenery and she’s somewhere safe in another city,” he offered.

“We’re close and I stay in touch with her foster parents and caseworker. She’s a good girl and she loves my twins.”

Joshua hadn’t thought about the fact that Alice could be married with kids. She’d mentioned her boys earlier but he thought that was part of the lie she was making up about a relationship with Perez. He glanced at her ring finger and stifled the relief that came when he didn’t see a band. But then she wouldn’t wear one while on a case like this. “You’re married?”

“No,” she said.

He didn’t want to admit the relief he felt with her answer. “You have twins?”

“Yeah. Why? You got something against twins?” Her eyebrow spiked.

“Nope. Not me.” Joshua couldn’t help but laugh given that he was a twin. His brother was the oldest by two minutes.

“It’s not funny. I love them with all my heart but those two can be holy terrors.”

“I’m sure they are.” He smiled wryly thinking of all the misadventures he and Ryder had had. He was pretty certain his mother would’ve used that same term to describe the two of them.

“You have kids?” she asked.

“Nope.”

“Then you have no idea what twins are like,” she said so matter-of-factly that he laughed again. “What’s so funny?”

“It’s nothing.” He wondered if his mother would have had the same exacerbation in her voice when describing him and his brother. The fact that she’d had six boys, the last of which were twins, made him certain she would.

* * *

THE COWBOY PUSHED off the bed. He’d done a nice job of dressing her wound.

“Mind if I grab a shower?” he asked.

“Not at all. I’ll clean off the other bed for you,” she said but he waved her off.

“I can manage. I’d rather you get some sleep.” His jacket was already draped over the back of the second dining chair. He tugged his T-shirt up and over his head and then fanned it out to dry on the dresser.

Alice shouldn’t let herself notice the ripples of muscles cascading down his back. He obviously spent some serious time at the gym. Then again, he’d mentioned something about a ranch. Working outside would give a man a body like his.

Tiredness pervaded every one of Alice’s bones. There was no amount of caffeine that could keep her eyes open for much longer but she was so used to fighting sleep that she tossed and turned instead of giving in.

The fact that the cowboy was in the next room cleaning up shouldn’t edge into her thoughts. Or that his body looked made of steel. It had to be the fact that she was overwrought with hormones combined with severe lack of sleep that had her thinking about the water rolling down the ripples in his chest that gave way to a solid six-pack stomach. She’d felt just how strong and masculine he was when her body had been pressed against his at the gas station. A place deep inside stirred, a need she’d felt too many times recently. She wished he could wrap those steel arms around her and make her feel safe.

How tired was she that her mind could wander to such a place given the circumstances? She forced her thoughts to the case and a sense of despair washed over her. It had been weeks since she’d seen her boys and that was probably the reason tears threatened so heavily this time. Or maybe it was the fact that the last lead to find Isabel had disappeared in front of her eyes. Perez wouldn’t be looking for Alice, but if he ever saw her again her cover would be immediately blown. He’d been her last hope to find Isabel. She fingered the pendant on the necklace around her neck, half a heart. The other half belonged to Isabel. When put together they read Best Friends. Isabel had scrimped and saved to purchase the necklaces over the summer. Tears threatened as Alice thought about the gift she’d been planning to give Isabel.

Alice had planned to tell Isabel about her plans to file for adoption. She wanted to be more than a big sister to Isabel. She wanted to be family.

A dark sadness blanketed her like a thick fog rolling in. The clock was ticking, time was running out and Alice didn’t know how much longer she could abandon her boys to chase down clues. Christmas was in three weeks and they deserved to have their mother home with them, too.

Alice hadn’t been completely honest with the cowboy earlier. She’d kept to herself the fact that she’d been forced to step down from the case because she’d gotten too close to an existing investigation with the FBI. Tears spilled and a sob released as she thought about her options.

Alice hated her weakness, but she could no longer hold back the onslaught of emotions bearing down on her, suffocating her.

Chapter Four

Joshua hoped he’d get back to the motel before Alice woke. He’d slipped out to pick up breakfast supplies. Outside the local coffee shop, Dark Roast, he called his twin brother. Ryder picked up on the second ring.

“What’s going on at the ranch today?” Joshua asked.

“Where are you?” Even though the sun wasn’t up Ryder sounded wide awake, typical hours for a rancher. Joshua had always been more of a night owl. In fact, he’d done little more than doze off for a few minutes here and there in the past few hours. His seniority at the Denver PD had given him the right to choose his shift. Unlike his peers who worked the day shift, he’d picked evenings. Even though he’d been home for weeks, his internal clock hadn’t made the adjustment.

“I’m in town at the coffee shop.” It wasn’t a lie.

“Don’t tell me you have a hot date this early?” Ryder joked.

“Nothing like that. Just needed to make a run into town.”

“How’d it go last night with the Nelson widow?” Ryder asked. He must’ve picked up on Joshua’s tone and figured she was to blame.

“As well as can be expected when she opened the front door in a silk bathrobe.” Joshua hadn’t been thrilled.

Ryder laughed and that didn’t help Joshua’s mood.

“How’d you manage to get out of that one without hurting her feelings?” His brother must’ve known the widow would pull something. She always did.

“I pretended not to notice.”

Ryder roared with laughter. “And she let you get away with that?”

“No, she let her robe fall open at one point,” Joshua said, still not enthused. “I almost told her to go put on a turtleneck.”

“That would have sent her into the other room crying,” Ryder said defensively. “She’s a little out there, lonely, but she’s harmless.”

“I didn’t actually say that even though someone should. If you wanted diplomatic you should’ve sent Tyler.” Joshua didn’t hide his irritation. Their older brother was known for his ability to navigate sticky situations, evaluate all sides and come up with a solution everyone could live with. No doubt he would’ve handled the Nelson widow with ease.

“You don’t have to bite my head off, man. I’m just here to shovel cow patties in the barn,” Ryder shot back. “Besides, you’re the one who drew the short straw at the family meeting last week.”

That didn’t cover the half of it. Joshua didn’t mean to be terse with his brother. The two had always been close. Keeping his secret about applying to the FBI was eating at his conscience, especially as he moved through the rounds. Then there was the woman sleeping in the motel room twenty minutes away. “I haven’t had my morning coffee yet. I don’t mean to be a jerk.”

“You’re fine. Besides, the Nelson widow can have that effect on people,” he teased, lightening the mood. “What’s she donating this year?”

“A bronze statue called Horse and Rider. It’s actually nice,” Joshua said, thinking that an expensive piece of art like that needed to be out of the back of his Jeep before someone figured it was there and helped themselves to it.

“Sounds heavy,” Ryder joked. “And classy.”

“Should help with our fund-raising goal this year at the silent auction.” He had no idea what that ultimate number was but he was sure a few of his brothers did, and rightfully so. They seemed like naturals when it came to stepping in for their parents.

“We ever going to talk about what’s really been bugging you, because I know it’s not the Nelson widow?” Leave it to Ryder to come right out with something on his mind. Then again, his twin would be the first to pick up on his underlying mood.

“It’s just not the same without them at the ranch,” Joshua said quietly, referring to their parents and that was 100 percent the truth. It was hard to think about being home without them there. And yet, that wasn’t what was really bothering him. He hoped his brother would buy the excuse or give him a pass without digging further.

“I miss them, too.” Ryder’s tone said he was giving Joshua a pass. This conversation wasn’t finished but would be saved for a later time.

“How’s everything going this morning?” Joshua asked, ready to change the subject.

“Fine. Dallas and Tyler are out checking fences. Austin and Tyler are in the office today. Austin said something about being up to his neck in financials and Tyler is negotiating next year’s supplier contracts. Are you coming in today? Uncle Ezra called last night and requested a family meeting,” Ryder said.

“What’s that about?” Joshua asked, distracted. He didn’t feel good about leaving Alice alone. He checked his watch, 5:40. It’d been less than twelve hours since their first encounter with The Ghost. Perez could be anywhere. Based on his reputation he was most likely searching for Joshua, not Alice. Joshua still didn’t like it. He scanned the parking lot aware that he had to watch his back a little more carefully until this whole situation blew over.

“I’m guessing he’s fighting with Aunt Bea again and wants us on his side,” Ryder said.

“Maybe he has another ‘opportunity’ for the family to invest in,” Joshua quipped.

“Yea, like his others have been so successful.” Ryder laughed.

Joshua tucked his free hand inside the front pocket of his jeans, staving off the morning chill. “What time’s the meeting?”

“Said he’ll come around suppertime. Think you can make it or do you need me to cover and then fill you in later?” Ryder asked.

“I’ll do my best to be there. Can I text you later when I know for sure?” Joshua had missed three of the last four family meetings and he was starting to feel guilty. No matter what else he decided he would always need to be involved in the family business on some level. As for his life, he needed to set his priorities and work from there.

“Of course. I better get back to it. These cows don’t clean up after themselves,” Ryder said.

Joshua resisted making a snappy comeback as he ended the call. His next was to his friend, Sheriff Tommy Johnson.

“We got trouble in town,” Joshua said after exchanging greetings.

“What happened?” Tommy asked, sounding half asleep.

“Did I wake you?” His friend was normally up and running by now.

“Not really. I’ve been working a case and didn’t get much sleep last night. What’s going on?” Tommy didn’t say it but Joshua knew that his friend was staying up late working on his parents’ case. He’d been poring over the guest list at the art auction the night before their deaths.

“Marco Perez was sighted last night at the gas station off Highway 287 near Harlan and he may be coming to Bluff next,” Joshua said.

“What makes you think he’ll come here?” Tommy asked.

“Me.”

“Okay, back up and tell me everything.” Tommy sounded wide awake now as ruffling noises came through the line.

Joshua relayed the details from last night up to the point of Alice taking him to her motel room. Even though it felt like he was betraying her, Tommy needed to know about any threats to the area. Joshua couldn’t have innocent people being caught in the crossfire if Perez was on a hunting mission—the prey he was after might be Joshua. “Can you check out Alice Green? She’s tracking these guys and she’s a cop out of Tucson.”

“Green. Got it,” Tommy said. “I’ll run her through the system.”

“Would you mind keeping this quiet instead? Do you know anyone out west you could contact and ask unofficially?” Joshua didn’t want to alert her boss to her whereabouts.

“I can’t think of anyone offhand but I’ll ask my deputies and see what we can come up with,” Tommy replied after a thoughtful few seconds of silence.

“I’ll owe you one.” Joshua figured that line pretty much covered his morning, and his life ever since he’d clocked out the last time with Denver PD and returned to the ranch. He loved the land, there was no question about that, but living the life of a rancher was for his father, his brothers, not him. So, his twin had been doing nothing but covering for him. And Joshua couldn’t keep up the charade much longer.

* * *

A SUDDEN NOISE woke Alice with a start. Heart thumping, she shot up and fumbled around for her Glock. The room was cast in darkness. Her heart raced at the sound of the door closing and the snick of the lock.

“It’s just me,” the familiar voice, the cowboy, said as a reading light clicked on. “And I brought coffee.”

Alice sank onto the bed, trying to shake the feeling of heavy limbs that came with suddenly waking in the middle of a deep sleep. “Coffee sounds like heaven right now.”

“How do you take yours?” he asked.

“Black works for me.”

He handed over a cup and the warmth was amazing against her cold fingers.

“Okay if I turn on another light?” he asked.

“Sure.” She took a sip, enjoying the dark roast taste and the burn in her throat.

“Mind if I join you?” He motioned toward the foot of the bed.

“Not at all.” It was nice to have company for a change. She’d basically spent the past three weeks alone aside from being kidnapped, stabbed and burned. In all fairness, the burn was an accident. She missed her boys, home, her job. Even though she couldn’t tell the cowboy everything about herself, she didn’t have to pretend to be a sixteen-year-old with him.

Alice glanced around the room. “Someone around here is into bluebonnets.”

“It’s the state flower.”

“I know that.” She took another sip. “I’m not an idiot.”

“Never said you were.” He arched his eyebrow.

Okay, she was probably being too defensive. She needed to tone down her attitude. “Thanks for the coffee, by the way. I appreciate it.”

He nodded and half smiled. “How’s your side?”

“No fresh blood. That’s a good sign.” She lifted her shirt enough to get a good look at the bandage.

“We’ll need to clean up the wound this morning to make sure infection doesn’t set in.”

“Hold on a second, cowboy. We don’t need to do anything. I’ve got this.” Her defenses were set to high gear again.

He shot her a disgusted look that she didn’t want to overanalyze.

“Of course you do,” he said.

Well at least he took a hint. Or so she thought. Until he got up, moved to the bathroom and then returned with the first aid kit he’d stashed there last night.

“I’m not the most agreeable person before coffee and I think we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot this morning,” she started but he interrupted her. He was trying to help and, although that grated on her, she also realized how nice it was to have a friend.

“Letting me clean and bandage your wound doesn’t make you dependent on me, or weak.” He spoke slowly as though he didn’t want to leave any question about his intentions. There was also a sharp edge to his voice.

“I never said it did,” she protested but he was already by her side, kneeling down. And if it wasn’t for those intense green eyes of his she’d stop him right there.

“Then lift up your shirt and quit being a baby about it,” he dared.

Alice did and then took a sip of coffee, realizing for the first time in weeks just how tired she was. Her still-foggy brain wasn’t helping with her disposition. The caffeine was starting to make headway toward clearing it. As it was, she’d been running on power bars and adrenaline, and even though she’d slept like a champ last night she knew it barely scratched the surface of what she really needed. Careful not to hurt her already aching side, she tried to stretch the kinks out of her arms and legs.

“I need to come up with a new plan,” she said on a heavy sigh, not sure why she was confiding in the cowboy.

“Since I have no confidence in your plan-making abilities, I’m willing to offer my services,” he said with a smile.

“Great. Thanks for the confidence,” she said and then laughed. The cowboy had a point. And a great smile. “I guess I can see where I might look a little crazy from someone else’s point of view.”

“Desperate or determined are probably better words. I just don’t want you to get yourself killed in the process,” he said. Maybe it was too early in the morning and Alice’s brain hadn’t fully engaged but the deep timbre of his voice sent sensual shivers down her back. “Why don’t you tell me what you’ve done and where you’ve been so far? We can go from there.”

Alice took another sip of coffee and then leaned her head against the headboard. She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Okay. Let’s see. Isabel went missing six weeks ago.”

“And we’ve already determined that she’s not a disappear-with-a-band type,” he said with another endearing half smile.

“She’s more of a Taylor Swift person,” Alice said, wishing she could return the smile. Just talking about Isabel made her heart ache.

“When did you realize she was gone?” He said the last word quietly and his reverence was duly noted and appreciated.

“We were supposed to meet at Lucky Joe’s Café right after school. She didn’t show.” Alice took another sip and opened her eyes.

“Is that when you realized something was wrong?”

“No. Not right away. I called her first and her phone went straight into voice mail. I thought maybe she got tied up with a teacher. She’d been stressing over her upcoming exams and didn’t feel prepared. The whole semester had been stressful. I thought maybe she was biting off more than she could chew. She’s a motivated student and she signed up for AP World History, Pre-AP Chemistry, Pre-AP English, and Pre-AP Algebra 2. Even though she speaks fluent Spanish, she signed up for AP French.”

“Sounds like an intense load,” he said. “I think I took one AP class before graduating.”

“Times have changed. Kids push themselves harder these days. Isabel wanted to get a college scholarship and she had no athletic ability.”

“So, she had to push herself that hard?” His dark brow arched.

“She thought she did. Her parents didn’t leave her any money and she didn’t have any other family in the US. The rest of her family is poor and live in Mexico. Conditions are worse there. She wanted to stay in the States and make a better life.”

“Why don’t you sound convinced?”

“Part of it was true. I do think she wanted to make a better life for herself but I also believe she was pushing herself so hard because she wanted to keep busy. Not deal with the fact that her parents were gone or that her foster parents didn’t care. She and her parents were close-knit and I could see how much she missed them.” An emotion passed behind the cowboy’s eyes that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. He didn’t say anything, so she kept going. “She’d been spending a lot of extra time at school, going to tutoring early in the mornings and staying late so I figured she forgot about our plans.”

“And you’re sure that’s all she was doing?” the cowboy asked.

Alice shot him a look.

“Whoa. Don’t get mad at me. I have to ask and you know it.” He put his hands up in the surrender position, still gripping his coffee with his right. “Don’t mind me. I’m just a rancher.”

Alice noted that he seemed to be pretty darn good at asking questions for someone claiming to work on a ranch. A simple life sounded damn amazing to her at this point. Was there a place she could get away with Isabel and the twins? Away from the world and all the stressors it contained? Or did a place like that even exist? Alice was anxious and that was the only reason she was thinking about escaping. The truth was that she loved everything about her job except for the guilt that came with making a critical mistake. When she had a bad day, someone could die.

The thought sat bitterly on her chest.

“Isabel didn’t have a lot of friends. Her school counselor said she’d always been a shy, bookish girl. She never got into trouble.”

“Did she have any friends?”

“No one close. She liked school and turned all her homework in on time.”

“You mentioned that she was feeling overwhelmed with her studies,” he said.

“Well, yeah, wouldn’t you? She was pushing herself too hard and I told her that I thought she should lighten her load,” Alice said.

“How did she respond?”

“She agreed with me. But the school wouldn’t let her change out of her Pre-AP classes until the end of the semester. She was worried about her GPA dropping in the meantime, so she started going to all available tutoring sessions,” Alice defended.

“Which is the reason you didn’t think too much about her blowing off a meeting with you?” he asked.

“I should’ve realized she was in trouble or that something had happened right then. She was dependable. I should’ve known that she would’ve shown if she’d been able to.” Alice couldn’t hold back the tears threatening any more than she could stop the heavy feeling pressing down on her chest. “I should’ve sounded the alarm right then and maybe we would’ve found her before she was taken out of town.”

“Hold on there a second,” the cowboy said. “Had she ever missed a meeting with you before?”

“Well, yes. Once or twice at midterms,” she supplied, trying to tamp down her guilt before it overwhelmed her and tears flooded.

“So, this time was no different than before. Experience had taught you that when Isabel got stressed she could get distracted like any normal human being, let alone a fifteen-year-old.” His words stemmed the flow of tears burning the backs of her eyes.

“I guess you’re right. I just keep replaying that day over and over again in my mind trying to figure out what I could’ve done to stop all this from happening in the first place,” she admitted, unsure why she was dumping the truth on a complete stranger. Maybe it was easier to confess her sins to someone she didn’t know and would never see again once she left Bluff, Texas.

“Unless you have some kind of crystal ball that’s not possible.” His tone was matter-of-fact.

She took a minute to let those words sink in.

The cowboy spoke first. “When did you realize she was missing?”

“Not until the next morning when her foster parents called, Kelly and Bill Hardings. Kelly assumed that she’d gone home with me to spend the night. When the school called the next morning to say she didn’t show up, they called to find out what was going on.”

“Sounds like they cared about her,” he said and she could tell he was reaching for something positive out of the situation.

“I think they were more worried about them looking bad to the state. They’d already talked to her caseworker about having her removed from their house and replaced with someone younger,” she said, frustration rising.

“Why would they do that? She sounds like the perfect foster kid. Studied hard. Got good grades.”

“She’s also fifteen, which pretty much means moody and self-absorbed. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a great kid. But teenagers aren’t exactly the easiest people to deal with. Plus, Isabel still hadn’t gotten over missing her parents so she didn’t really open up to them like they’d hoped.”

“Why take her on in the first place? They had to know what they were getting into.”

“I’m not sure they did. They were new. After reading her file I think they thought she’d be a good way to get their feet wet with foster care. And then when she didn’t bond with them right away they got discouraged.” Alice knew that scene a little too well.

“I don’t understand that thinking. I mean, either you want to help or you don’t. These are human beings we’re talking about not pieces of furniture.” She appreciated the outrage in his tone because she felt the same way.

“The caseworker said the couple is asking for someone quite a bit younger next time.” Alice bit back her anger. “Isabel is a good kid and she doesn’t deserve any of this.”

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