Guarding Hope (Police and Fire: Operation Alpha)

by Steele, C. M.

  “No way. I’ve no interest in Monica.”

  “Well, that’s clear now.”

  The waitress came back with our drinks. “Your food will be out in a minute, fellas.” She gave Gage a wink, then headed back to the kitchen.

  “Hey, what is it? You got that smell going on or something? Are you testing some bull pheromones?” Dax teased his buddy, shaking his head and then taking a drink of his Coke.

  “Fuck off. I can’t help that you’re a bunch of old bastards.”

  “Well, you’re the retired one. So how’s your mama?”

  “She’s good. She’s got a boyfriend. He’s the rancher down the road. He’d been eyeing her for the past ten years, but she wouldn’t give him the time of day after my father. She finally caved.”

  “About time. Old Fred Willard has been pining for her for years.”

  “I can’t believe it.” The guys erupted into a hearty chuckle.

  The waitress came over with a large tray and passed out the plates for each of the guys. With Dax wearing his badge and TJ in uniform, they knew that more than likely they didn’t have much time before heading back in, so the service was quicker for them.

  “Thanks for coming out, Gage. We know it’s a long drive in.”

  “Well, I ain’t got a job at the moment, so I’ve got time to kill.” The guys talked about the job between bites. Everything went smoothly for another twenty minutes before Dax’s phone went off.

  “Chambers.”

  “We need you here at the office.”

  “On my way.” He ended the call and tossed his napkin on his plate. “Sorry, guys, but I have to get out of here.” Dax reached for his wallet, but Gage stuck out his hand, stopping him.

  “I’ve got this.”

  Dax nodded after a moment, accepting without a fight. “Fine. I’ve got the next time.”

  “Take care, Dax.” Both men said as he left the table. He waved them off and headed out to see what the problem was.

  TJ stayed for another ten minutes when his phone went off. “Sorry, bud. I’ve got to go too. I’m still on duty for another four hours.”

  “No problem, TJ. I’m going to finish up my food and head on back.” The men stood up, and TJ dropped the tip on the table.

  “Don’t argue with me on that.” He smirked and walked away. Gage had loved hanging out with the guys. They had done it over the years as they worked on cases together. Gage stared out the window while chewing on a bite.

  “Did you need anything, sir?”

  Startled, he answered after he swallowed hard. “No, thanks. Just bring me the check, please.” He smiled up at her, hoping that his brash tone didn’t frighten the woman.

  She returned the smile and said, “Sure thing, sir. Here you go.” The waitress set the bill on the table for him and started picking up the mess from the table. He slipped his card inside then waited for her to return with it.

  In five minutes or less, he was out of the restaurant and searching for his missing woman. He knew that it was fruitless since she’d more than likely left, but the urge was something he couldn’t shake.

  After twenty minutes more of looking around, he decided to head back home. Gage lived just outside of Austin in Jollyville, which was still over a two-hour drive at this time of day. He was about ten miles from home when he thought a stop at the local gas station for some beer would be a good idea, so he headed that way.

  Chapter 5

  “You have to find her,” an angry Baxter Cummings hollered at Daxton Chambers with his face turning redder with every word he spat out. The sweat coated his forehead and made Dax wonder if Cummings needed to be checked for cocaine use. He pounded his meaty fist on the desk, shouting out his impatience. “You’re the damn Texas Rangers.”

  Hope Cummings had gone missing just this morning and it wasn’t a Texas Ranger issue, but Mr. Cummings sure felt like it was. Daxton knew that Cummings had people in the PD that looked the other way, so why did he have to be upsetting his lunch with this?

  “Calm down, Cummings. Take a seat.” Dax gestured to the seat in front of his desk. This was the reason he had to leave his meal with his friends who he hadn’t seen in a while. The well-dressed, angry gentleman unbuttoned his suit jacket, then sat down on the chair with a loud huff.

  “Now, how old is your daughter?” Dax tapped his pen on the blotter on top of his desk, feeling a deep annoyance with the man in front of him. He’d known Cummings in passing over the years, but he’d never trusted the man. Rumors of illegal activity circulated about him over the years, but the police could never pin anything on him, including dealings with drug lords like Alfonzo Navarro. Well, it helped that they weren’t looking that hard.

  Cummings rubbed his freshly shaven face, then quickly moved his hand up to his cowboy hat, removing it and fiddling with the brim. In a steady, rough tone, he barked out, “She’s missing, damn it, and the San Antonio PD refuses to do their damn job. They wouldn’t even take down a report. How in the hell is that even right?”

  “Again, how old is she?” Dax reiterated with very little patience remaining for the man in front of him. He knew when a person was evading his questioning, and Cummings was sure as hell dodging the question.

  “Twenty,” Cummings finally admitted, ducking his head to avoid Dax’s gaze.

  With an exaggerated sigh, Dax dropped his pen on the desktop, leaned back in his leather chair, and said, “Okay…and what makes you think she hasn’t intentionally gone missing? She has the right, ya know.”

  “No the fuck she doesn’t,” Cummings informed the Ranger with a vehemence that put the well-trained official on alert.

  Their attitudes transformed with those words. Dax leaned forward, leaning his elbows on his desk and crossing his fingers. The tick in his jaw would warn any normal man with sense that he’d been pushed too far, but Cummings was either too stupid or too arrogant, and Dax didn’t care for either.

  “Mr. Cummings, I know that you’ve been used to skirting the law, but that doesn’t work with me. I can’t be bought, and I sure as fuck am not afraid to tell you no. Your daughter is a legal adult and therefore not under your thumb. From your tone, I know all I need to know. She more than likely left on her own accord, and I don’t blame her for it. Get your ass out of my office before I find a reason to look a little harder into your life.”

  Cummings tilted his head, narrowing his brow, and with a hint of disbelief in his voice, he questioned, “Is that a threat?”

  The air was so thick with anger and distaste that a knife couldn’t cut through it. With a smirk, Dax taunted, “Why? You worried?”

  Cummings pushed his chair back and stood, attempting to create a towering persona. At only five ten, it wouldn’t work with the muscular six-one Chambers who wouldn’t cower to anyone. “Never, but I want my daughter found, and now I’ll have to hire someone to do that.”

  “Do that, but I’ve got my eye on you,” Daxton exclaimed, standing as well.

  The enraged father stormed out of the office and over to his expensive truck. The bastard had the money to hire someone, but apparently, she didn’t seem worth the dough.

  “Fucking bastard,” both men uttered simultaneously.

  While Baxter Cummings drove off, Daxton went back to his desk to make a call with a smile. He needed help from someone with time and outside the law enforcement world but who had the right connections, and there was only one guy for that job.

  * * *

  Gage felt his phone ring in his pocket as he pulled up to the gas station just a few miles from his home. He needed a fill-up, so he reckoned now was as good a time as any. The screen showed his buddy Dax calling, giving him a little cause for concern. He hoped to hell that nothing happened after Dax reported back to this office, but then again, why would he call Gage instead of someone closer to help?

  “What’s up, Dax?” he answered, jumping out of his truck next to the pump closest to the store. In need of some beers, Gage figured he’d pay for his gas insi
de and pick up a six-pack. The heat was making him thirsty, or maybe it was the woman that he couldn’t get out of his head.

  “I know you’re not in the same line of work, but I wonder if you have a private investigator on your contacts?”

  Gage pulled the door open, making it chime and attracting attention from several people in the store, including some nods from the strangers in line. There happened to be a lot more people at the station than he’d ever witnessed.

  “Why? What do you need?” He tipped his head, nodding to them as he headed to the back to the line of coolers, pulling the pack out of the refrigerator just as someone else came in, and he was hit with that feeling again. He nearly banged his head on the cooler door, turning around to see who it was.

  “Baxter Cummings was the fucking problem that called me back from lunch. His daughter has gone missing,” Dax exclaimed on the other end.

  She couldn’t be more obvious unless she brought out binoculars to look at Gage. Her chin dipped into her chest as she ducked her head, attempting and failing terribly to go unnoticed. Her outfit had changed just slightly, but she was still wearing the blue zippered hoodie.

  “Daughter? I didn’t know he had a daughter,” he muttered, unsure if it was even true because his eyes had been on the woman following him. She had to be stalking him.

  “I did, but Hope’s a fucking adult, and she’s only been missing a few hours. Something smells fishier than the gulf. I could use your contacts in tracking her down.”

  “I wouldn’t touch anything to do with Baxter Cummings with a ten-foot pole.”

  His eyes moved with her all through the racks of goodies and snacks as she randomly picked up treats with hardly a glance at the items in her hand. He wondered if she enjoyed the ones she selected, or was she just as preoccupied as he felt?

  “I know, but I think she’s in danger, and fuck if I can let that go. Call it whatever you will, but I can’t in good conscience let this go.”

  “I understand you. What the fuck is she doing here?” Gage finally blurted out to Dax.

  “She? She who?”

  “When I arrived at the market, a pretty redhead was watching me, and now she’s in the gas station. She’s lurking, and I’m curious why.”

  “Be careful. She could be a lure.”

  “She’s fucking alluring all right. I’m gonna call you back later. I need to pay for my shit and see what happens. I’m not worried about the mini little thing. I’ll send you my friend’s info when I get back to the ranch,” Gage whispered, ending the call. He tucked his phone in his pocket and took his beer to the register and paid.

  Hope couldn’t believe this was a coincidence that the man from the square was here. He had to have followed her. She tried to take a deep breath, but her emotions were too wild to steady herself. She dumped her treats onto the newspaper stand next to the register, and then scurried to the restrooms in the back of the store, needing to hide out until he was gone. The bus driver had given them fifteen minutes before he was pulling out again. That was all the time she would have, but maybe it would be enough.

  Five minutes later, she exited the bathroom to see that the six-foot-two handsome man with short black hair and broad shoulders in a cowboy hat and boots was outside filling up a black-on-black SUV.

  She grabbed a few items and headed to the register to pay for them, unaware that she’d now become stranded. The bus had pulled away just two minutes earlier.

  * * *

  “She’s on a Greyhound bus to Oklahoma,” Jimmy informed Cummings. He personally wanted to find the bitch who ran out on him at the doctor’s office. She’d gotten fucking lucky that there was a woman going into labor in the middle of the damn waiting room, sending everyone into full-on panic mode.

  “Good. Can you get the route and tail her before she gets off?”

  “Even better. I know the driver. I can get him to make an unexpected pit stop for us to get her alone.”

  The first smile Cummings had since she escaped this morning stretched over his face. He stood up, headed over to his liquor sideboard, and poured himself a glass of aged bourbon. “Good. Call it in and hurry the fuck up. Navarro isn’t interested in waiting much longer. Don’t fucking come back empty-handed. Understood?”

  “Gotcha.” Jimmy left the office and called his cousin to set up the plan. She would be in his vehicle in less than an hour later. He rubbed his hands together in angry anticipation. Fuck, he couldn’t wait to get his hands on the little bitch who could ruin everything for him.

  Chapter 6

  Gage had been watching the entrance to the gas station, waiting for her to come out. The bus pulled away, so the little doubt he had about the random tourist visit couldn’t work. It seemed like forever, so Gage decided to take a seat by an outdoor seating area to the side of the gas station store out of sight. He wanted to catch her looking for him, so he moved over to the benches with a large umbrella that gave him some shade, keeping the sun out of his eyes.

  A few minutes later, a ding from the front door caught his attention. It had to be her. She came out and walked around for a moment with a surprised expression on her face. An audible gasp could be heard from her as she scanned around the empty gas station lot. She must be searching for the bus.

  “Shit,” she muttered just as a vehicle pulled in. She darted between two pumps where the garbage can sat. She leaned against the frame of the pump next, plastering herself to the side so they couldn’t see her.

  Gage noticed something peculiar was going on. She ducked behind his SUV the second they pulled into a parking spot in front of the convenience store. The two men that stepped out of the car were too obvious to be missed in their suits and sunglasses, standing out like sore thumbs.

  Needing to get home to check on the cattle, Gage unlocked his SUV with the click of his key fob. He’d just about got halfway to his vehicle when one of the guys called out, “Hey, you. Hey, cowboy.”

  With a grimace, he spun on his heels, turned, and addressed the jackass. “Can I help you?”

  “I’m looking for a young lady.”

  “Aren’t we all,” Gage muttered, smiling at the thug in the suit who didn’t return the humor.

  He brushed off Gage’s tease and continued. “She was in here a few minutes ago. Have you seen her?” They showed Gage a picture of the girl in question.

  The minx following him hadn’t been following him at all—she’d been running from these fools. He wouldn’t let them have her. No one could have her but him.

  “Yeah, she’s hot, but she wouldn’t even make any eye contact. I thought she got on the bus,” Gage offered.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Sorry, no. I don’t pay attention once a woman blows me off. I got a call when the bus pulled away.” Gage shrugged with his palms turning upward. “Sorry, fella. Maybe you can try to catch up to that bus. It only left five minutes or so ago.” He pointed in the direction the bus had left.

  “Thanks,” the goon muttered ungratefully and headed inside to speak with the attendant. Gage turned and walked to his truck with a smile on his face. Getting into his vehicle, he refused to acknowledge the pretty little thing tucked down in his back seats with his coat over her body. He could smell her sweet scent, and she’d draped herself in his jacket. Fuck. He adjusted his hard cock before pulling out of the station.

  He was a few miles from his home and knew that the gas station didn’t have a working surveillance system because it broke last month and the owner couldn’t afford to buy a good one. They were out in the middle of nowhere, and traffic was few and far between, so they didn’t feel the need for one. Most customers were local folks working on the farms.

  The drive was short, but it felt so long because Gage fought himself from stealing glances at his stowaway. He had a plan to bring his little doll peacefully into the house as long as he could control his dick long enough to stay down. Bill and the hands were out on the pasture letting the cows feed, so he had a chance to sneak her inside
without anyone seeing.

  Once he jumped out of the truck in front of his large ranch house, he walked around to the backdoor and opened it. “So, gorgeous, let’s get you in the house before someone sees you.”

  A territorial urge came over him at the thought of one of his hands seeing her. Beautiful barely even scratched the surface as far as he was concerned. Her long red hair had been messed up from the ride, giving him the image of what she would look like when she woke up.

  She shook her head at him, nervously appraising Gage’s tall and broad figure. He knew how intimidating he appeared. It helped him in the courtroom every time he came up to a weak witness.

  “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. I’m not going to hurt you, but I sure as fuck don’t want anyone creeping on my property looking for you. Got it?”

  “I’m Hope,” she said, sticking out her hand for him to grab. A jolt of electricity struck him, only serving to make his interest in her grow.

  “I’m Gage,” he mumbled, his cock throbbed as the softness of her hand pressed into his rough hands. He led her into the house, locking all the doors and keeping the window shades and curtains shut. Seeing the skittish look in her eyes and the way she tucked her body inward and with her lip quivering, he raised his hand slightly in a wait-a-minute motion.

  Getting irritated that she believed him to be a danger to her, he bit out, “I told you, I’m not gonna hurt you. You’re Cummings’s daughter, correct?”

  “How did you know that?”

  “One, those two goons showed me your photo. Two, my friend with the Rangers asked me to help look for you. Then you went and jumped in my truck, saving me the trouble of hunting the whole damn state of Texas for you.”

  “You’re not going to turn me in, are you?”

  “I don’t like your daddy. In fact, if I could, I’d put a bullet in his ass this very minute. What I want to know is what the hell is going on, and why they’re on a tear, looking for you. But first, let me get you something to drink or eat. You must have had one hell of a day.”