“Good, good.” Janet patted her hands. She hated how pale her daughter looked, even more than before the accident. Her large blue eyes seemed bleak. Maybe she was still in shock. “Well, things will get better from here on out, Katie. I have big plans for us. Big ones!” Janet threw her hands up in the air and laughed. “Did you know I have quite a bit of money saved? How would you like to go on a trip around the world with me? We could take a month off once this business is established. I could take you to places you’ve only read about. We could see some of the greatest historical sites together. It would be a wonderful way to get to know one another better. Don’t you think?”
Seeing the joy in her mother’s eyes, Katie stopped herself from getting too involved. She couldn’t. As a child, she’d dreamed of having a mother who wanted to be with her. Again, Katie recognized her idealism. Her mother worked for a cartel. She was a drug addict. That much was clear from the papers she’d read at the sheriff’s office earlier this morning. “Y-yes, that sounds wonderful.”
“Good! Well, we’re gonna put this accident behind us, Katie. We’ll move on. You just run the front office and I’ll work with Eduardo in shipping. Together, we’ll get this second business on its feet and running smooth.” Janet smiled and sipped her coffee. Her daughter sat lifeless, her face pale, her expression sad. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
Stiffening momentarily, Katie forced a smile. “Yes, I’m fine.” She gestured to the clear bandage across the stitches above her brow. “I have a bit of a headache, that’s all.”
“Thank God the doctor said you’d be okay. Do you need to take aspirin? I can run over to the office across the plaza and get you some.”
Heart pulling with grief, Katie barely shook her head. “No...no, I’ll be fine. I think I’m just coming out of the shock Dr. McPherson said I’d go through.” She saw care in Janet’s face. Could her mother be that good an actress? Katie didn’t know and it made her want to scream with frustration. But she had to sit in Mo’s and pretend nothing was wrong.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“KATIE, WHATEVER HAPPENS, just be careful when you go to work today.” Joe’s fiercely whispered words as she’d left the raptor facility echoed in her heart. She could still see the fear in his eyes. Precisely at 9:00 a.m., Katie had shown up at Mercury Courier Service.
The office hummed with activity. Janet was out front waiting on a long line of customers. Eduardo was busy in shipping. And now she was inputting the orders into the computer. Lifting her hand, she momentarily touched her chest. She’d barely slept last night; her dreams were about who was lying and who was telling the truth. Joe had lied to her, but her mother was lying, too. How could she continue to love both of them even though they’d done this to her?
Katie stared at the terminal. When Eduardo had left a moment ago, she’d transferred the thumb drive from her pocket to the desk at her right hand. She’d covered it with a piece of paper. Fear was interwoven with anxiety. She heard her mother chatting amiably with waiting customers. Would Eduardo remain in shipping? Often, at this time of morning, he moved packages from the front desk to shipping. Katie couldn’t be assured he wouldn’t pop in and see the thumb drive in use. She knew he’d instantly get suspicious.
Turning, Katie looked at the heavy door that said Shipping on it. How long would Eduardo remain in there? She got up and peeked around the corner. There were ten people in line. Janet wouldn’t be able to come back for at least fifteen minutes. She had her hands full with customers. Good.
What about unsmiling Eduardo? The lean man said little. His dark eyes were intense and Katie always felt a sense of danger around him. Now, she knew why. He was an undercover Los Lobos soldier. Nervously looking around, Katie keyed her hearing. She had to get this thumb drive loaded with the information now! The men were waiting for her to arrive at the sheriff’s department at noon.
Mouth dry, her heart pounding, Katie quickly moved the device and plugged it into the computer. She had memorized the code and typed it in. As the code opened up the programs, Katie felt relief. It began the transfer. Oh, God, don’t let me be discovered! She knew if Janet or Eduardo saw the information streaming across the computer screen, they’d figure out she was stealing information. And then what?
Hurry! Hurry! Katie tensed, her hands curling into fists. The information kept streaming without pause. She stared at the blinking light on the thumb drive as it gobbled it up. It seemed so slow! Twisting around, Katie eyed the closed door to shipping, What was Eduardo doing out there? Had more guns and drugs come in? Every morning at this time, a company van arrived from Cheyenne. Katie had timed her theft based upon that schedule. It was the only way to get restless, prowling Eduardo out of her cubicle so she could steal the software information.
Sharp laughter exploded out front. Katie’s heart leaped. Gasping, she sat up. And then, she heard Janet join the laughter with the male customer.
Heart slamming in her chest, Katie’s gaze flew between the device and the busy computer screen. She instinctively knew Eduardo would grasp what was going on. He was like an alert raptor who missed nothing. Joe had warned her yesterday any drug soldier sent north to the U.S.A. usually spoke two languages. These highly trained and loyal men had high-school educations and were very willing to do the dirty work for the drug lord without question.
If Eduardo suddenly came through the door, what could she do? Katie nervously picked up a mug of hot coffee and stood near the rear door. Joe had warned her to have a plan of action in case Eduardo unexpectedly showed up. Katie glanced anxiously at the computer; it seemed to be taking forever. Hurry! Oh, God, don’t let me be found out. Please...please...
The door to shipping jerked opened. Eduardo started to barge through it.
Katie cried out and dropped the mug of coffee on the floor in front of him. “Oh!” she cried, looking at Eduardo, “look out!”
The soldier yelped in surprise, leaping back into shipping as hot coffee splattered him. The white mug shattered across the floor. He hissed a curse in Spanish and quickly shut the door.
Katie shoved a piece of paper across the keyboard to hide the thumb drive. There was no way to cover up the monitor. Moving swiftly, she placed herself between the door and her office desk.
“Oh, Eduardo!” she called. “I’m so sorry! Can you keep the door closed for a minute? Let me clean up my mess? I don’t want you to slip and hurt yourself.”
“Hurry up!” he yelled through the door.
Fear skittered through Katie. Eduardo was impatient and angry. Hands trembling, Katie grabbed a roll of paper towels on the desk opposite hers.
“Everything okay?” Janet called, peering into the office area.
Gulping, Katie felt her heart slam to her stomach. “Uh...yes...I just accidentally spilled my coffee.” She grabbed the towels and hurriedly bent over to begin cleaning up the mess in front of the shipping door. She saw her mother’s face switch from worry to relief.
“Okay, okay, get it cleaned up.” Janet disappeared.
Katie slowly cleaned up the hot coffee splashed across the waxed floor. Eduardo was waiting on the other side of the door. She could feel his impatience. Glancing toward her desk, Katie moaned. The information was still being transferred! When would it stop? When? Placing herself between the shipping door and the broken mug, Katie slowly picked up each piece of the ceramic mug and placed it into her opened palm.
The door hit her in the back.
“Ouch!” Katie called, shoving the door closed. “Just wait, Eduardo! I’m still cleaning up the mess!”
“I got things to do!” he yelled back.
Slow down, Katie. Slow down! Don’t hurry, don’t hurry! She crouched, her back against the door. Anxiously, she jerked her gaze to her right. The computer screen was still streaming information. Groaning, she felt a new kind of fear. What if Eduardo pushed his way
through? What if he saw the computer screen? Mopping up the coffee now cooling across the floor, Katie didn’t dare leave her position at the door. How much longer?
Suddenly, her computer screen went dark.
Katie leaped to her feet, rushed over and jerked the thumb drive out of the keyboard. After shoving it into her pocket, she immediately turned the computer off. The screen went blank.
Eduardo wrenched the door open. His foot struck the pool of coffee on the floor and he slipped and fell. Cursing in Spanish, Eduardo landed hard on his back.
With a gasp, Katie dropped the pottery into a wastebasket and rushed to his side.
“I’m so sorry, Eduardo.” She held out her hand toward him.
The soldier got up, hissed at her and stomped back into shipping. The door slammed shut.
Relief shot through her. Quickly, she picked up the remaining shards and finished drying the floor. Hurrying to the wastebasket, she dumped the refuse. She took a deep breath, rushed over to the shipping door and pulled it open.
“Eduardo?”
She saw that the wide corrugated aluminum door leading out to the shipping dock was lifted and open. Eduardo signaled the driver from Cheyenne to slowly back up. Knowing she wasn’t supposed to be out here, Katie swiftly closed the door. Her knees suddenly turned weak. She’d done it! The thumb drive was hidden in her pocket.
Katie returned to her computer and turned it on. More relief flowed through her as the desktop flickered to life beneath her anxious gaze. Everything looked normal. Katie glanced at her watch. It had taken five minutes, but it had been the longest five minutes of her life. She sat shaking in earnest. How did Joe manage to go undercover? He always seemed so calm and collected, unlike her. Taking several breaths, Katie tried to calm herself. She wanted to run out of here, but she couldn’t. Janet would suspect something was wrong. In forty minutes, it would be noon. Only then could Katie leave for lunch. And no one would suspect she was driving over to the sheriff’s department where everyone was waiting for the thumb drive.
* * *
“INCREDIBLE WORK, KATIE. Thank you,” Roger praised.
Katie watched as the FBI agent handed the thumb drive to his computer expert, who quickly rushed out of the room to a terminal. She managed a strained smile. “It wasn’t easy....” She glanced at Joe, who looked relieved. “What am I supposed to do now?”
“Go back to work,” Roger said. “Act like nothing has happened.”
“You sure my mother won’t know what I did?” Her voice was hoarse with fear. Automatically, Katie looked across the table at Joe. Just having him present calmed her. How badly she wished they were alone. Right now, she wanted to be held. Joe had always made her feel safe in this careening, crazy world of hers. How could she still love him after he had lied to her? Yet she did.
“Positive, Katie. Now, relax. Everything will be fine. Go to work, close up at 5:00 p.m. like you always do and go home.”
“H-how long before you know anything?” she demanded.
“Shouldn’t be long,” Roger said.
“And then what?”
“We’ll be able to crack the security code on the Los Lobos network. They won’t know we’re there. You just keep playing the role you’re playing.”
Katie exhaled, her nerves jangled. “I want my mother saved. But Eduardo scares me. He’s always angry, as if I’m always underfoot.”
Joe stood and moved around the table. “Eduardo is a drug soldier, Katie. It’s not about you. He must be stressed over incoming and outgoing shipments. He has to make things happen for Xavier.” Joe touched her shoulder. More than anything he wanted to sweep her into his arms, kiss her breathless and hold her safe. He swallowed his fantasies as he saw terror lurking in her wide eyes. When his fingers grazed her shoulder, she seemed to relax. “Just do what you’re told, Katie. Everything will be all right. We’re right here. We won’t let you get hurt.”
“Janet wants me to have supper with her tonight after we close up.”
“Then have supper with her.”
Katie nodded, feeling raw and exposed. She badly wanted to step into the circle of Joe’s arms. She no longer felt anger over his role in her life. She didn’t know what had shifted within her. She gazed up into his stern face. “Will I see you at the facility tonight? Can you feed the raptors so I can have dinner with my mother?”
“No problem. I’ll stay there at the center until you get home.” He wished mightily Katie was coming to his house instead, but it was an impossible dream.
“Okay, great. I won’t be long. Frankly, my stomach’s tied in knots and food is the last thing on my mind.”
“I understand.” Joe gave her a tender look. “You’re doing fine, Katie. Just hang in there. We’re all here for you.” He gestured to Cade and Roger. “You’re not alone....”
* * *
KATIE WAS THE ONLY ONE LEFT at Mercury Courier at 5:00 p.m. Eduardo had taken off with a van shortly after lunch, bound for Idaho Falls. Janet had errands to run and reminded her she’d return at closing and they’d go to dinner afterward. Some of her nervousness ebbed as the afternoon wore on. The computer worked fine. She had input all the orders without incident. All she had to do was pull the blinds in front closed and turn off the computer. How badly Katie wanted to leave now. She was tense and couldn’t relax. More than anything, she longed to see Joe and skip dinner with Janet tonight. All silly dreams, Katie reprimanded herself. Any minute now, her mother would show up.
Clearing off her desk, Katie turned off the computer.
A noise startled her. She heard a familiar grinding sound and knew it was the corrugated door in shipping lifting open.
Turning, Katie frowned and looked toward the door.
More noise.
What was going on? Katie straightened, confused. Had Eduardo returned? He always called in on the radio when leaving and arriving at the dock. She walked to the door.
The noises continued. The grinding sound stopped, meaning the rear door to the loading dock was open. Katie pressed her ear to the door and heard muffled male voices.
Katie gripped the doorknob. Should she lock it?
Did her mother know of another van arriving to unload at the dock? In her heightened state of nervousness, Katie wasn’t going to take any chances. Just as her fingers moved toward her cell phone in her back pocket, the shipping door sprang open.
Katie leaped back, all of a sudden terrified.
Two men with black hair and brown eyes glared back at her. They held weapons in their hands—and they were pointed at her.
Katie felt a scream jam in her throat. She panicked and turned to run away.
A hand clamped down on her shoulder, yanking her backward off her feet.
As Katie hit the floor, her head slammed into the wall, knocking her out.
* * *
“DAMMIT!” JANET FUMED, using her key to unlock her business. Where the hell was Katie? Shoving the door open, Janet flipped on the lights. It was 5:00 p.m. Katie was supposed to meet her here so they could go over to Mo’s Ice Cream Parlor for dinner.
“Katie? Katie, where are you?” she called, storming through the entrance. The blinds were closed. Janet hurried to the rear office. She halted, eyes wide. The door to shipping was ajar. What the hell? Walking into the area, she noticed that the rear door was open. No... Turning, Janet screamed out for Katie once more.
Nothing.
Heart starting a slow pound, Janet ran to the dock. This door was always kept shut and locked. Looking around, she saw skid marks from a vehicle in the lot. The other two vans sat nearby. Nothing looked out of place, except... Whirling around, Janet ran back into shipping. Before she’d left, there had been six boxes of marijuana stashed in wooden crates along the wall. They were gone.
Gasping, Janet hurried to Katie’s office
. Where was her daughter? Fear trickled through her as she searched the desk. Papers were scattered across the floor, as if there had been a fight. She turned on the light and examined the door. There was a smear of blood on the wall. Leaning down, she cursed. Garcia! They’d attacked her business and kidnapped Katie!
Janet immediately called Xavier. “That’s my daughter they have! Dammit, do something, Xavier!”
“Let me get hold of Eduardo,” he growled.
“He’s three hours away!” Janet yelled, anger making her voice rise to a higher pitch. “Dammit, you promised me Katie would be all right! You said we had protection! Right now, my daughter’s missing and six boxes of marijuana are gone! It has to be Garcia!” Tears spilled from her eyes as Janet stood there feeling helpless. Xavier had lied! There were no extra soldiers around to watch her business and keep them safe. The bastard had lied to her! Mind whirling, Janet knew what she had to do. “You get back to me when you can!” she snarled, flipping off the cell phone.
* * *
DEPUTY CADE GARNER was on duty when Janet Bergstrom ran into the building, screaming for help. The receptionist had sent her to him. In minutes, Janet spilled the story.
“I don’t care what you do to me,” she told Cade. “Just get my daughter back alive, dammit! Get someone out to the dock area and check those tire treads. See if anyone saw a vehicle there! Or saw them take Katie!” Balling her fists, Janet yelled, “Save my daughter!”
Cade nodded and alerted the drug task force. A call automatically went to the two FBI agents. “Come with me,” he ordered Janet, whose mascara had run, leaving streaks across her cheeks.
By the time Joe arrived at Mercury Courier, there was a swarm of deputies, along with Roger Hager. Cade stood up on the dock with Janet. She was crying. His heart squeezed. The fear was just starting to hit him. God, no. No. Katie’s missing! He took the steps two at a time and ran over to the group.
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