Evasive Action (Holding the Line Book 1)

by Carol Ericson

  April’s cheeks warmed, and she tugged harder at Meg’s arm. “You’re tipsy, cuz. Off to bed with you.”

  Meg giggled as she staggered to her feet and weaved down the hallway.

  “Lightweight.” Clay held up Meg’s empty glass to the light.

  “She did drink more than both of us put together.” April collected the rest of the glasses and dishes. “She needed it. She comes across as feisty but the head really spooked her.”

  “And you?”

  Clay touched her arm, the pressure of his fingertips making her weak in the knees all over again—but in a good way.

  “I’m okay. I didn’t see anything this time except a little blood. No more images to add to my nightmares.”

  “Do you still have nightmares?” The touch on her arm turned to a featherlight brush.

  “Not often.”

  “Do you want me to stay? In another room, of course.”

  “I think Meg would like that. If she mentioned it, she meant it.” She stepped away from the warmth that emanated from his body and carried the dishes into the kitchen.

  He followed her like she knew he would and leaned against the counter. “And you?”

  “I think both Meg and I would feel safer with you and Denali here tonight.” She dumped the dishes in the sink. “Do you want to help me with these?”

  “You rinse, and I’ll put them in the dishwasher.”

  They worked well together, just as they always had in the past, and it all felt so natural. She wanted this again. She wanted Clay. She’d been a fool to believe Jimmy could ever replace him.

  She held out the last plate. “That’s it. Do you want me to search through Meg’s cupboards for a toothbrush?”

  As he took the plate, he curled his fingers around hers. “I missed you.”

  Tears pricked the backs of her eyes and she blinked. She couldn’t do this with him.

  She slid her hands from the plate, grabbed a dish towel and flicked it at Denali’s head. “I think he did, too.”

  Clay’s jaw tightened as he hunched over the dishwasher to put away the plate. “Don’t blame me if he jumps on your bed to sleep with you tonight.”

  “I’d like that.” April spun away from Clay. “I’d like that a lot.”

  Too bad he meant the dog and not him.

  * * *

  THE FOLLOWING MORNING, April got up when she heard Meg banging around in the kitchen. She’d barely gotten any sleep the night before, anyway—between visions of headless bodies and the thought of Clay’s very real body in the next room, she couldn’t turn off her mind.

  She crept up behind her cousin. “How are you feeling?”

  Meg yelped and dropped a coffee cup, which hit the tile floor and cracked. “Oh my God. Why are you sneaking up on me?”

  “I’m sorry.” April crouched down and retrieved the broken pieces of the cup. “I figured you’d have a hangover. I was trying to be quiet.”

  “I do have a hangover, and I still have to go to work.”

  April patted Meg’s back. “Sit down. I’ll get your coffee.”

  “Did you and Clay kiss and make up last night?”

  “Of course not.” April threw a little pink packet of sweetener at Meg. “He was here to protect us.”

  “Yeah, okay.” Meg’s eyes widened. “Good morning, Clay. Did we wake you?”

  “Sounded like you two were throwing glasses around in here.” He curled one arm behind his head and patted his flat belly as he yawned.

  “Just an accident.” April pointed to the pieces of glass on the counter. “How’d you sleep?”

  “Great, without Denali crowding me. You?”

  “Fine—with Denali crowding me.”

  Meg heaved a sigh. “Can you please pour that coffee into my commuter mug? I have to get out of here. When are you two going to Albuquerque?”

  Clay answered, “Tomorrow morning. I have a few days off, but don’t worry. I’ll get your security system installed first.”

  “That would be great.”

  “Do you want me to leave Denali behind with you when we go to Albuquerque? He can serve as another layer of protection, and it would be easier for me and April to drive without him.”

  “About that.” April set Meg’s mug in front of her. “We’ll have to take separate cars. I need to get that car back to its rightful owner.”

  Meg’s hand jerked as she stirred the sweetener in her coffee. “Wait, you stole that car?”

  “Not exactly.”

  Meg raised her hand. “That’s enough. I’m off to work...and I’d be happy to take care of your dog.”

  When the front door slammed behind her, a heavy silence hung over the room.

  April cleared her throat. “Do you want me to watch Denali while you’re at work? We have some catching up to do.”

  “Are you going to stick around here all day, or do you want to stay at my place? Denali needs to eat.”

  “We can stay at your place, and I’ll feed him.” She held up her coffee mug. “Do you want some coffee?”

  “No, thanks. I’ll wait for you to get ready, and you can follow me over to my place. I’ll shower and change there, and then leave you and Denali to your own devices.”

  She flicked her fingers. “You two can get a head start. I’ll come over when I’m ready.”

  “Are you sure you’re okay to stay here alone?” Clay spread his hands. “I didn’t want to leave you alone.”

  “I won’t be alone.” She put her cup in the sink. “Leave Denali with me. I’m going to get my gun out, too. You can help me clean it and load it sometime today.”

  Someone knocked on the door and Denali growled.

  “See how good he is?” April patted Denali’s head on the way to answer the door, but Clay grabbed her arm. “Let me.”

  He leaned into the peephole and nodded. “Perfect timing. It’s Charlie Santiago from Paradiso PD.”

  Clay opened the door. “Hey, Charlie.”

  “You here already, Clay? Doing some investigating?”

  “No, I’m going back out to the site where we found the first body. You here to do some more canvassing?” Clay widened the door to include April in the conversation.

  “Hello, Ms. Hart. I hope you and your cousin had an uneventful evening.”

  “It was. Clay’s leaving and is nervous about my being here by myself. Can you let him know you can keep an eye on the house for the next thirty minutes or so?”

  “No problem. I’ll be in the neighborhood for about an hour.” He adjusted his equipment belt, the leather creaking and handcuffs jingling. “I’ll keep a lookout for anything suspicious.”

  “Problem solved.” Clay winked at her. “Don’t take too long.”

  With Clay gone, Charlie the cop patrolling the neighborhood and Denali parked outside the bathroom door, April showered, allowing the knot in her belly to loosen.

  She grabbed her new purse and exited the house. She waved at Charlie in his patrol car as she patted the passenger seat of her ill-gotten vehicle and Denali jumped inside.

  Before she started the engine, she tried calling Adam. Again, his phone rang without rolling over to voice mail. She tried a text and watched the display for the notification that it had been delivered. That notification never came through.

  Why was he offline? Had Jimmy threatened him? Did Adam know who took Jimmy’s flash drive?

  Denali whined beside her and she touched his nose and said, “My brother’s a mystery, Denali.”

  By the time she got to Clay’s place, he’d already showered and changed into a fresh uniform. He’d always looked good in the Border Patrol greens that matched his hazel eyes. Hell, Clay Archer would look hot in a clown suit.

  He shook a dog dish full of dry food. “I already got Denali’s breakfast ready and changed his wate
r outside. Just add a little warm water to his kibble when he’s ready to eat.”

  “You’re going to work and then to the hardware store to get the security systems?”

  “Work, back here for lunch to check on you two and then to my friend’s place. He installs the systems and I can get a couple from him. Will you be back here at noon?”

  “I’ll make sure of it. I’ll even make us some lunch.”

  “What do you plan to do this morning?”

  “I meant what I said. I’m going to get reacquainted with Denali—and try to reach my brother.”

  Clay raised his eyebrows. “No word from Adam?”

  “Nope.” She pushed her hair from her face. “Maybe he doesn’t realize I called Jimmy and doesn’t want to have any contact with me in case Jimmy finds out.”

  “You called Adam from your new phone, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Adam doesn’t know that number. He wouldn’t know to avoid it.”

  “I also texted him, letting him know it’s me.”

  “Keep at it. I’m curious to find out what he knows about that flash drive.”

  “You’d better get going. Denali and I have things to do.”

  “Don’t make him adore you more than he already does. You’re gonna break his doggy heart when you leave again.”

  April swallowed hard. “Denali and I have an understanding.”

  “If you say so.” Clay jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “I took out the supplies to clean your gun and left them on a workbench in the garage, if you’re serious.”

  She patted the small backpack she borrowed from Meg. “Oh, I’m serious. I have my piece with me.”

  One corner of Clay’s mouth turned up. “Okay, then you should probably clean your...piece.”

  “Go ahead and laugh. You know I’m a good shot.”

  “I know you are. Just be careful.”

  “With the gun...or everything else?”

  “In general.”

  “I think the heads are just some kind of message to you. I don’t think Meg and I have to worry.”

  “Probably not.” He hitched his bag over his shoulder. “I don’t like the idea that these people know you’re connected to me somehow and followed you home. It means they’re still here—watching.”

  She tightened her grip on the strap of the backpack. “I don’t like it, either, but I’ll be safe with Denali and my gun, once I get it ready.”

  “Then I’ll see you at lunch.” He waved on his way out the door.

  April fed Denali, cleaned and loaded her gun, and then slipped into Clay’s office where he had a tablet charging on his desk.

  He didn’t have a password on the computer, so she launched a browser and started a search for El Gringo Viejo. After scanning past a few results for Mexican restaurants, she zeroed in on a couple articles about the mysterious drug supplier in Mexico.

  This guy didn’t have the fame or notoriety of some of the other big-time drug lords—no fancy villas, no fancy girlfriends. In fact, nobody knew where he lived. Nobody knew what he looked like. Nobody knew much about how he operated.

  Where would Adam get the idea that El Gringo Viejo was their father? Why would he tell Jimmy? None of it made any sense.

  The articles didn’t provide much information, certainly not enough to head down to Mexico on a fact-finding mission. Of course, if she went down there and let the word drop in a few circles that the daughter of El Gringo Viejo was searching for him, she might just get a hit. Or take a hit.

  What did she hope to accomplish by finding her father? If he really were El Gringo Viejo, wouldn’t that shoot her theory all to hell that he never murdered Mom? It would, in fact, confirm his guilt.

  Sighing, she slumped in the chair. She’d just gotten out of a sticky situation with Jimmy. Clay was right. She should put this all behind her and move on—put Clay behind her, too. What was the shelf life for threats? She didn’t want to find out.

  Denali whined at her feet, and she kicked off a sandal and ran the bottom of her foot across the soft fur on his back. “Are you ready to go for a walk, boy?”

  His ears cocked forward and his tail wagged in response.

  She’d missed having a dog. Jimmy had claimed he was allergic. That should’ve been a sign right there.

  She collected Denali’s leash and stuffed a plastic bag in the pocket of her capris. She hooked him up and set out for the pecan groves about a half mile from Clay’s house.

  Nash Dillon’s family owned this particular grove in addition to the one surrounding his house, had owned this land for years. Her sandals scuffed against the dirt, and she unclipped Denali’s leash from his collar so he could roam a little bit.

  April inhaled the slightly sour scent of the trees and soaked in the dry heat that seemed to permeate her skin and warm her bones. She could’ve been happy in Paradiso with Clay if her life hadn’t taken a hard left turn her senior year of college.

  If her father hadn’t stabbed her mother to death in their kitchen. If her fragile little brother hadn’t found the body. If she hadn’t had to clean up everyone else’s messes.

  Denali’s sharp bark pierced the air as he appeared through the trees as if chasing a rabbit—or running from something.

  He skidded to a stop in front of her, the fur on his back standing on end. He twirled around to face the grove that had just spit him out. His lip curled, one tooth hooked over his lip, but he remained silent, his entire body quivering.

  His fear reached out to her, causing a chill to sweep across her flesh. “What is it, boy? Something coming after you?”

  She tipped her sunglasses to the edge of her nose and peered through the trees. Maybe nothing was chasing him. Maybe he’d found something.

  “Did you see something? Dig something up?” She shivered despite the heat beating on her shoulders.

  Could there be another head? They seemed to be following her around in this town since she arrived. Maybe not another head, but there was definitely another body out there.

  Crouching down, she attached Denali’s leash to his collar and gave him a little yank. She had no intention of finding a woman’s headless body out here on her own.

  “C’mon, Denali.”

  He offered no resistance, scampering ahead of her, leading her from the grove.

  She glanced over her shoulder once. “You and me both, Denali. Let’s see what your dad has for lunch.”

  By the time she reached Clay’s house, her heart rate had returned to normal. All kinds of things spooked dogs. It didn’t have to be a dead body.

  She filled Denali’s water dish and gave him a quick brush before washing her hands and inspecting Clay’s kitchen. For a bachelor, he had a halfway decent supply of regular food. Yeah, he had plenty of beer and a fair number of take-out containers with questionable contents, but he did have fresh vegetables and some eggs still within their date of expiration.

  She whipped up a couple of omelets and mixed a salad of tomatoes, cucumbers and avocados. By the time Clay came through the door, she’d added a vase of flowers to the kitchen table and poured two glasses of iced tea.

  He swept off his hat, his gaze bouncing from the table to her face. “You didn’t have to go through all this trouble.”

  “No trouble. I can’t believe how nicely those flowers are growing out back in this weather.”

  “You planted them.” He swung his bag onto the kitchen table and the flowers wobbled on their stems. “I just keep watering them like you told me to.”

  “You do have a green thumb, Clay Archer.”

  Holding up his thumb, he inspected it. “I’m just good at following orders.”

  “Well, so am I.” She ignored his eye roll. “I cleaned my gun with the stuff you left in the garage, took Denali out for a walk and managed to scrape some food t
ogether for lunch.”

  “Looks good.” He unbuckled his equipment belt, which sagged on his hips. “I’m gonna wash my hands and dig in. Called my friend with the security business. He’s going to help me outfit both houses.”

  “I’ll pay for his services at my house.”

  He cranked his head over his shoulder as he scrubbed his hands beneath the kitchen faucet. “We’ll take care of it. I feel like I owe Meg something for bringing that to her home...your home. What is that arrangement, anyway?”

  “She’ll stay there until I decide if I want to sell the house or not.” April pulled out a chair at the table, tucking the strap of Clay’s bag beneath the satchel.

  “You don’t have to check with Adam?”

  “Adam doesn’t own the house. I do.” She picked up a fork. “I—I mean I’ll share the money with him if I sell it.”

  “Why should you?” Clay took a seat at the table and flicked the cloth napkin into his lap. “That’s not what your mother intended, is it? That’s why you got all her life insurance money, too. She didn’t trust Adam with the money.”

  April nibbled on her bottom lip. “I was never able to reach him today. I want to check on him tomorrow when we go to Albuquerque.”

  “I sure hope Verdugo didn’t find out that Adam took that flash drive.”

  “I don’t think Adam would be that stupid to nab Jimmy’s property—whatever it contains.”

  Clay snorted but refrained from commenting as he dug into his omelet. “Tell me about Denali’s walk. Did you take him to the pecan grove?”

  “Yes, but he saw something that spooked him. Ran back to me all in a tizzy, fur sticking up.”

  “Always happens.” Clay plucked a glob of melted cheese from his plate and held it under the table for Denali.

  “You spoil him.”

  “You should talk.” Clay waved his fork over the table. “This is great, thanks.”

  “The least I could do.” Considering I ran out on our wedding.

  When Clay ignored Denali’s demands for more table scraps, the dog scampered around the table in a big circle, sniffing the floor. On his second rotation, he crashed into the leg of the table and Clay’s bag began to slip from the table.