by Kelly Irvin
“It’s hands-free, as you know, and I’m perfectly capable of driving and talking at the same time. Even at night.” The snap in Natalie’s tone sounded like the old Natalie. The one who married a surgeon ten years her senior, had two children, and still managed to earn a PhD in clinical psychology before she turned twenty-seven. “Deacon is with me.”
“Deacon?” Gabriella wrestled her own volume back down. “Deacon Alder, the reporter, is in your van?”
“Yes. He was at the house interviewing me when those thugs broke in.”
“Interviewing you? What thugs? What happened?”
The Charger swerved and halted at the curb in a hard brake that knocked Gabriella against her seat belt. Eli’s features were set in a grim, stony frown. “What’s going on?”
She held up one finger and focused on listening to Natalie’s rapid-paced, jerky rendition of a story her tone said even she couldn’t believe.
“They wanted a cell phone?”
“A cell phone. But I’m more worried about their preoccupation with you. They seemed to think Alberto Garza told you something before he died. What, I don’t know.”
“What happened?”
“We didn’t have it. They searched the house. Then they left.”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
“Ava came downstairs in the middle of it. I had to tell them where you were or the man would hurt her.”
Gabriella’s throat constricted. Her lungs no longer took in air. She gripped the door handle with her free hand. Her fingernails bit into the flesh of her palm. “Is she . . . Did they . . . ?”
“What?” Eli released his seat belt as if preparing to spring into action. “What’s going on?”
“She’s okay. Everybody’s okay. But I lied. I told them you went to Houston. They threatened to come back if they didn’t find you.”
The shaking of her arms and hands made it hard for Gabriella to keep the phone on her ear. “So they just turned the place upside down and left?”
“They fired a few shots.” Natalie’s voice dropped to a whisper. “They said it was a warning for you.”
Jake, what did you get us into? Gabriella pushed her door open and stumbled from the car. Eli followed. A streetlight lit up a bus stop bench. She grabbed the back of it. Only the fact that her stomach was empty kept her from hurling. She drew a shaky breath. “So that’s why you’re in the van.”
“Yes. Marty and his brothers are watching the house. They’re taking care of Jowls. The kids insisted Artemis come too.”
Marty had three brothers, all vets. He’d shared his family history at one of many neighborhood block parties. “Where are you going?”
“To Laredo.”
“You’re what? No, no, no, it’s no better here. You’re safer in San Antonio.” Maybe. Not at the house. “Deacon, what are you thinking letting her come to Laredo? Have you lost your mind?”
“Priestess of Pie, how goes it?” Deacon’s attempt to sound jaunty came out more like a knock-knock joke at a funeral. “Have you learned anything about your brother’s whereabouts?”
“Nothing I plan to share with you. This seems a little far to go to get a story. Even for you.”
“This isn’t about a story.” The exhaustion in his voice had been replaced with a steely anger. “You need police protection. Real protection. Not just Eli and his ego. The ATF needs to find Jake before the bad guys do.”
The painful hiccup was back. “What are you talking about?”
“Those guys weren’t playing around. I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life.”
Going from reporting about crime to being the victim of a crime. It had to be a new perspective for Deacon. Not one anyone should experience. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, just slightly freaked out.”
“Why are you coming to Laredo? This town is more volatile than an IED.”
“I may be saving their lives.” The earlier spurt of anger had been replaced with a tired irritation. “You can thank me later.”
Panic fueled the anger that blew through Gabriella at the thought of anyone trying to hurt Natalie and the kids. Coupled with not knowing where Jake was or if he was even alive. It was too much. God, it’s too much. Why is this happening?
She settled onto the bench, legs suddenly weak. Eli’s shadow hovered over her. He put both hands on her shoulders. She grabbed his fingers and hung on.
“Who’s on it? Who’s investigating?”
“Homicide, ATF, the same crew that has the Garza murder.”
“Where are you going, exactly?”
“To my aunt and uncle’s house. They raised me. You can trust them. They live off Del Mar Boulevard in a very nice gated community. Good security.” Deacon’s sigh blew across the line. “Look, they’ll be safe there. I promise. I wouldn’t be bringing them to Laredo if I didn’t think it was for the best. I promise.”
Something about his tone produced a lump in Gabriella’s throat. She tried to speak, cleared her throat, and waited a second. Tried again. “I want to see them. Eli will want to interview all of you.”
“It’ll be too late tonight. We just left the SA city limits. We’ll rendezvous tomorrow when we can. In the meantime, be safe.”
“What about the story?”
Deacon’s laugh was more of a snort. “I filed what I had. Which isn’t all that much. I had to do it to keep my job. But right now, keeping Natalie and the kids safe comes first.”
This was a huge concession from a hard-core journalist. “You’re okay.”
“I consider that high praise from you.” A soft chuckle trailed off. “Take care of yourself, Miss Queen of Pie.”
“You too.” Gabriella disconnected, sucked in a long breath, and slid away from Eli’s touch. “We need someone to go through Alberto Garza’s possessions again. His apartment, everything.”
Eli sank onto the bus bench next to her. “Tell me what’s happening.”
Gabriella smoothed the smartphone’s cover, the facsimile of an old library card, against her jeans and breathed. Eli took it from her and laid it on the bench between them. “Start talking.”
She told Natalie’s story, beginning to end, without stopping. Eli rolled an unlit cigarette between his thumb and forefinger while watching cars go by. His posture was so relaxed, he might have actually been waiting for a bus, but the grit of his jaw and the pulse that jumped there said differently.
“So. They’re coming. A lady in a wheelchair. A reporter who doesn’t know a Glock from a water gun, and two little, defenseless kids.” Eli craned his head from side to side and rubbed his neck. “I’m surprised they didn’t bring Artemis.”
“They did. The kids refused to leave him.”
“Well, you never know when you’ll need a trained guard dog.”
The image of Artemis’s pug face and his massive rotund body standing guard over anyone made Gabriella chuckle. The chuckle turned into an out-and-out laugh. After a second, Eli joined in with a belly laugh she hadn’t heard in a long time. They both howled. A couple walking by, hands linked, stared and walked faster.
“Sorry, I don’t know what’s so funny.” Gabriella swallowed another giggle. “Hysteria mixed with exhaustion.”
“Yeah, or maybe I’m just that funny.” Eli snorted. “Sorry, it’s not really that funny.”
They both sighed.
“We need to get you to Alder’s aunt and uncle.” Eli stood as if he intended to go now. “You can stay with Natalie and the kids.”
“In your dreams. We need to find that cell phone and we need to find Jake.”
“Do you have a raisin for a brain? They’re looking for you. I need to keep you under wraps.”
“All the more reason I shouldn’t stay with Natalie. It puts her and the kids in danger. I won’t do it. Not with Jake still missing. Maybe dead.”
The stare down lasted several seconds.
Eli plopped on the bench. “So they’re searching for a cell phone. I imagine Dun
bar has already gone through Garza’s stuff with a fine-tooth comb.” He toyed with his wristwatch, his expression thoughtful. “And the Feds too. I’m sure there’s nothing left at that apartment that hasn’t been dissected.”
“What about here? Maybe he gave it to the girlfriend. Or hid it at his house.”
“He was meeting your brother. If it contained evidence, he would’ve had it with him.”
“The Mitsubishi?”
“They didn’t find it in the car. That’s why these thugs are after you. He told you something they don’t want you to tell me. They think you have the phone.”
“What’s on it that’s worth killing for?”
“Depends on what Garza knew. Who the gun buyer was. Who the facilitator is. The location of the safe house where the guns go before being transported. The transportation operation. Recorded conversations. Videos. Who knows? Obviously we’ve got major players involved here or the Feds wouldn’t be pursuing this. Jake wouldn’t have been involved if it was small potatoes. It still goes back to the guns.” Eli held out a hand. “For now, you’re going back to the hotel. You’ve had it.”
“What about you?” She stared at his hand. It had been warm and sure on her shoulder only a few seconds ago. “You’ve had it too.”
He glanced at his watch. “The gun store is closed by now. Maybe I can get in touch with Jake’s partner.”
“If you’re going to see Teeter, I’m going too. Where you go, I go.”
“Not so I’ve noticed.”
She stood and brushed past him. “Whose fault is that?”
Eli vaulted from his seat and opened her door with a flourish. He waited until she slid past him into the seat, then leaned in, his face close to hers. “I know you like to tell people it was all my fault, querida, but you and I both know there was more to it than that. You left me long before you decided I cheated on you.”
She closed her eyes so she wouldn’t have to see the pain etched on his face. He might be right. A series of unfortunate events . . . her parents’ divorce, Paolo’s death and Natalie’s injuries, and then a suspect in a homicide shot Eli. The odds of getting hurt multiplied with every new devastating event.
Had she been looking for a reason to leave before she got hurt? If she had, she’d left far too late.
Chapter 15
If her friends had used Gabriella’s name in the same sentence with hotel and Eli before this evening, she would’ve laughed them out of the house. Yet, here she was. Standing outside her hotel room door, Eli looking over her shoulder. Using the overhead corridor light to illuminate the black hole that was her purse, Gabriella fished out her hotel key card and swiped it. The red light stayed red. “Oh, please.”
She tried again. Nothing. She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the door. Her legs would give out any second, and she’d be a crumpled heap on the dirty hotel carpet in front of Eli. Her whole body ached to lie down. Five or six hours of sleep and she’d be good to go another forty-eight or until they found Jake. She swiped yet again. Same infernal red light stared at her, unblinking, standing between her and her bed.
Eli tugged the card from her hand and swiped. The light changed to a bright, cheery green. He pushed the door ajar and handed her the key card. “Get some sleep.”
She stuck the offending card in her pocket. Tomorrow, she’d ask management for a new, more reliable one. “Tomorrow we find Jake. Sunday, we go to your dad’s church before we head back to San Antonio.”
They would find Jake. No other alternative existed. Then they would all go to church together and thank God for His goodness and His mercy and His grace. Then she would get back to Courtside where she could experiment with a new recipe, create soufflés, and knead bread dough until her shoulders ached.
Eli’s bloodshot gaze held hers for a second before it dropped. He ducked his head so long locks of his dark hair hid his eyes. She almost missed the shake of his head.
“Your dad finds out you’ve been in town and you didn’t come to church, he’ll kick your behind all the way to Monterrey.” She could hear the fire-and-brimstone sermon as clearly as if Xavier Cavazos stood in the corridor with them. “Besides, with everything that’s happened, it would be good to hear your father’s words of wisdom, don’t you think? Maybe he can explain why stuff like this keeps happening.”
No explanation existed. Other than the evil that worked so hard to permeate the world. As long as it had a foothold, people like Jake and Eli would never lack for employment.
“Some other church, but not his . . .” Eli blew out air. “I’d be surprised if he let a sinner like me soil the carpet of his sanctuary, but I wouldn’t mind sitting next to you at a service. Maybe some of your goodness and faith will rub off on me.”
A mental snapshot of them sitting together on the pew made her throat tighten. Going to church with Eli had once been a dream of hers. “Everyone who enters a church is a sinner, including me. You said yourself your father believes in forgiveness. You have to face him sooner or later.”
“You don’t know anything about my dad and me.” He moved away from her and turned to face the guardrail overlooking a full parking lot. “Besides, it’s not his forgiveness I need.”
Choosing to ignore the last statement, she left the door open and went to stand next to him. “Because you’ve always refused to talk to me about him. I’m the last one you talk to about how you feel. You wouldn’t talk to me about your work. You wouldn’t talk to me about how you felt after you got shot. You go off and lick your wounds in some dark corner and leave me feeling like a bystander.”
“Oh yeah, men love talking about feelings.” He glanced at her. She held his gaze, willing him to let her in, just once. He ducked his head, as usual. She thought he would chicken out, as usual. Then his mouth opened. “He made me memorize the Ten Commandments and recite them before I could sit down to eat supper.”
“You could’ve learned those a whole lot better.”
Gabriella’s acidic tone earned her a small chuckle. “I remembered them fine.”
“Your dad was worried about your eternal soul.”
“I needed a dad who was worried about his son—all of him, not just his soul. When I became a police officer, I thought that would show him . . . show him I’m good.”
“You are good.”
“No, I’ve done things . . . things you don’t know about.” He straightened and pulled the ever-present cigarette from behind his ear. “And then I messed up things with you. My dad saw that coming a mile away—150 miles away, actually.”
“Why can’t you tell me?” The million-dollar question. “Is it worth it, you not giving me any explanation?”
“Tell you?”
“Don’t play dumb with me.”
“There are things I’ve done that I’m not proud of. Things that happened before we even knew each other.” His jaw worked. “I’m trying to come to grips with them. Figure out how to make my life work. I thought I should do that first.”
Her throat ached with the effort to hold back tears. She swallowed and prayed she could get the words out without crying. His refusal to let her in never ceased to hurt. “Did it ever occur to you that I should be a part of that effort?”
The words were a bare whisper.
“I wanted you to be. I still want that.” His bass grew hoarse. “I just needed time to figure things out. You exploded before I could.”
The creaking of his apartment door sounded in her ears just as it had that night when she’d gone to tell him she wanted to try again. She’d missed their counseling session for the third time, and he wasn’t returning her calls. Everything had changed after he was shot. The missed lunch dates. The sudden disappearance for the weekend. Hanging up his phone when she walked into the room. She was afraid of what the future held, but more afraid of living without him. She planned to tell him she wasn’t ready to give up.
The door opened. Instead of Eli, there stood a woman in a black silk robe. She looked as if she’
d just stepped off the catwalk in Madrid. “Can I help you?” She had a gorgeous accent to match bronze skin and eyes the color of café con leche.
“I know, and I’m sorry. But some things can’t be undone or unseen. And you won’t explain yourself.” Gabriella snatched the cigarette from his fingers, snapped it in two, tossed it on the cement, and ground it under her heel. “Stop tempting yourself. These things will kill you.”
“I knew you still cared about me.” He went back to studying the parking lot. “If you knew the whole story, you’d be even less inclined to forgive me.”
“Trust me.”
“Like you trust me?”
“I was there. I saw her. In your line of business and my old job, that’s considered clear and convincing evidence.”
“You saw a woman in my apartment. Did you see me with her?”
“She was in a robe.”
“Circumstantial.”
“Eli.”
“Trust me.” He stepped into her space. The words hung in the air between them, vibrating with everything unspoken. Lights sparked and crackled around her.
She inhaled his scent and felt his touch even though his fisted hands hung at his sides. “You don’t make it easy.”
“I’m working on it. Give me time. Is that too much to ask?”
The same old stalemate.
“Time is running out. I want kids. I want a family.”
His body jerked as if she’d slapped him. He ducked his head. “Life is complicated. Give me a chance to figure it out.”
His pain permeated down to her marrow. “I don’t know if I can.”
Eli went back to memorizing the parking lot below them. Gabriella let out her breath, only just then realizing she’d been holding it.
“So, I need to go see Sunny tomorrow after we see Natalie and the kiddos. Meet Sunny’s dad. I have the feeling she wasn’t telling us everything. Maybe she knows something about what Jake was doing. Maybe she was searching for the cell phone when we busted in on her.” His tone had reverted to Eli the Cop. “We have to figure out who Alberto Garza was buying for. That’s the key. The person Jake was going to take down after he got Garza in custody. If Sunny Mendez was really Jake’s girlfriend, then maybe that’s her family’s only involvement.”