Chapter Twenty-One
Chad woke suddenly. The vibration of his cell phone hummed next to them. He pushed the sleeping bag off them and carefully reached over Jasmine to fish through his clothes before he located the phone. He palmed his Guardian-issued phone and glanced at the incoming number. Jared. Naturally, they’d issue him the only type of phone to get service out in the middle of nowhere. Damn it, MIB, you’re a pain in the ass.
“’Lo.” He cleared his throat and tried again. “Hello?”
“Sorry for waking you. I keep forgetting the time change.” Jared’s smart-ass, cocky voice let him know that last comment was an out-and-out lie.
“Sure you did. What’s up?” Jasmine lifted off his chest and cracked her eyes open long enough for him to kiss her forehead and push her head back down on his chest. He’d worn the woman out last night. She could rest awhile longer.
“I thought you should be the first to know we caught up with Burns last night. He evaded apprehension, but we have his car and know where he was living.”
Chad’s body tensed, and Jasmine rose onto her elbow immediately. He knew she could probably hear, but he pulled the phone away from his ear more so she could hear everything. “You think he could lead us to the killer?” God, he hoped so. The murders had to stop. Once he was completely cleared of the situation, he was having his legal team reach out to all the families to see if there was anything he could do for them.
“We are hoping so… the crime scene techs have pulled partial prints off three of the scenes. There was some random DNA that has no profile attached in CODIS or NDIS. The same gun was used for all of the assassinations. We have a search warrant for this guy’s home, car, and person. If it is him, we’ll know soon.”
Chad glanced up at Jasmine. “CODIS and NDIS?”
“CODIS stands for the Combined DNA Index System. It is what the FBI uses for matching DNA profiles. NDIS, or the National DNA Index System, is the larger database system of DNA profiles of the US,” Jasmine explained.
“A little early for my sister to be up,” Jared taunted.
“She’s not the one who’s up.” Chad gave as good as he got. The MIB had grown on him.
“Damn it, Nelson, too much information.”
Jasmine laughed and snuggled back into him. “Thanks for calling. I like this ranch living, but…”
“I understand. We are still working it. The press hasn’t let up, though your mom and Zelda aren’t being harassed.”
That was good. He’d been worried. His mom probably would tell him if they were being harassed, but damn, he’d like to be there for her. A damn good thing Guardian was helping. Speaking of which, he needed some of that too. “I keep putting off my management team, but there is paperwork I need to sign, deals that are falling through because I’m inaccessible. If it were just me, I wouldn’t mind, but there are jobs and people’s welfare to take into account.”
“Understood. Have them send it to my office electronically. We will forward it. You can send it back to me, and we’ll sanitize the thread before we get it back to them. What can’t be done electronically, we’ll courier to you.”
“Cool. I’ve been working exclusively with my lawyer. I’ll call him later and have him send the documents to you. Do I need to cancel my appearance at the CMAs?”
“When is that?”
“November. I have a performance, and I’m scheduled to present an award. My agent and manager are having a cow. My PR firm wants me to do an interview with 60 Minutes. They said they could guarantee my privacy.”
“No. No one goes to the ranch. That is our sanctuary, and yeah, it is locked down tighter than Fort Knox, but we aren’t starting down that slippery slope. We could maybe do a video link interview. We have the ability to ensure the transmission can’t be pinpointed. Offer that to your management team.”
Jasmine nodded her head on his shoulder. He kissed her before he answered. “I’ll run it by Jasmine and make sure my personal security doesn’t have a problem with it.”
Jared laughed, a carefree sound so at odds with the way he remembered the guy from their first meeting. “You do that. You have no idea how lucky you are to have her at your beck and call. The woman is one of the best PSOs I have, and you’ve got her all tied up.”
“Not yet.” Chad’s mouth engaged before his brain. Jasmine slapped her hand over her mouth to stop the surprised sound she made.
Jared continued, “I don’t want to know. Seriously. I’ll work these issues and get back to you as soon as we have more information.”
“Thanks!” Chad hit the end button and threw the phone on his clothes before he turned and pounced. He growled and tickled her with his hands while scraping her neck with his morning beard.
Her peals of laughter spooked the horses. They whinnied, but they both ignored them. Chad centered himself over her and leaned in for a kiss. The horses whinnied again. Chad could hear them stomping around along the line where they’d been tied. He didn’t care, especially when Jasmine smiled, closed her mouth, and shook her head. “Morning breath,” she mumbled through the fingers that flew to her face.
Chad pried at her hands. “It’s like garlic. They cancel each other out.”
“I’d heard that, but I don’t believe it.”
Chad jolted and swung his head at the comment. He stared way up into the eyes of Jasmine’s mother and stepfather. They sat on horseback and stared down at them. Jasmine wiggled further under him, damn near crawling down his chest. He lifted, basically doing a plank in the sleeping bag so she could hide.
“Umm… hi?” This was awkward—with a capital A.
Frank took a long glance around the campsite and then back at Chad. “So, I guess this is as good a time as any. What exactly are your intentions toward my stepdaughter, Mr. Nelson?”
Jasmine’s head shot up and out of the bag. She looked at her parents around his bicep. “Mom! Frank! Really?” Her mortified gasp brought a flicker of a smile to Frank’s face.
Amanda chuckled, leaned over her saddle and brushed her husband’s arm with her hand. “Dear, you men can have this conversation later. Jasmine, you and Chad have a good day. Come on, Frank. Let’s finish our ride.”
Frank grunted before he turned his horse to follow Amanda. He glanced down at them once more before he left and shook his head. Chad felt the reprimand to his toes.
“Guess we should get dressed?” He waited until the parents were out of hearing range before he asked.
Jasmine groaned. “What are your intentions? I’m so embarrassed. Honestly, I’m not a blushing virgin! Oh. My. God. He didn’t just say that, did he?”
Chad pulled her up from her hiding place under him and kissed her hard. “He did. He cares about you. Come on, let’s get some clothes on before someone else rides up.”
~~
Jasmine pulled her hair back and put it into a messy bun before she mounted her horse. Chad had been quiet. She could barely look at him. She understood how mortified he might have been when his mother walked in on him at the beginning of his career. Lord, what she wouldn’t give for some mind altering drugs right about now. She lifted into her saddle, and they headed back toward the ranch, following the fence line.
“What are we going to do when the dust settles?” Chad’s question surprised her. She hadn’t thought about it. Well, that was a lie. She’d thought about it a thousand times and then dismissed the situation because she didn’t want to get her hopes up.
“With your case?” Jasmine asked just in case he was talking about the situation with Frank or something else.
He nodded. She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know.”
Chad reached over and grabbed her hand. They rode together like that for a while before he spoke again. “What we have is still new, but it’s different… better. I don’t want to lose this.”
Jasmine felt the weight of his words in her soul. She knew he meant them. But there were so many reasons they would never last. Work being the primary reason.
“Our schedules are insane. You’ll go back to being you, appearing at the CMAs, writing hit songs, singing them. I travel the world for my job. I’m home maybe two months a year and not all at one time. I like what I do.” She squeezed his hand and let it go when he pulled up at another broken strand of barbed wire. He dismounted and began working on the severed wire.
“I like what we have. I just want to know if it has an expiration date in your mind.” Chad looked over his shoulder at her. He straightened and let Tango nudge him with his nose. “See, I’m of the opinion it doesn’t if we don’t want it to end. I’ve made up my mind. I’m done performing except for maybe special appearances that I choose. I love to write music, so that will be my focus.” He looked across the rolling hills, and Jasmine followed his gaze. “I’m at peace here. I could see myself on a ranch, working… writing songs, being happy. Traveling for enjoyment, not business. Seems like a good life.” He grabbed a pair of pliers and twisted the tightened wire together.
Jasmine leaned on her saddle horn with her forearm and ran her fingers through her horse’s mane. The idea of them being together was a new one, one she’d just let herself start to think about. The tiny glimpses of hope she’d allowed herself to keep hadn’t developed yet. She trusted Chad to understand her hesitance. They were new. She was more than a little skittish on talking about a future. The last time she’d planned on spending her life with someone, she’d been hurt. There were so many things tumbling through both of their worlds. Making a decision about anything now would be insane.
“It is good. Here and now. I don’t have any answers for you. I don’t know what the future will hold, but I do want to spend time with you. What we have? I know it is different, special. But it is still so new.” Jasmine hoped he’d understand her caution.
Chad pulled off his baseball cap and wiped his brow before he started putting his tools away. “One day at a time, then?”
Jasmine waited until he mounted again. A sense of peace and contentment flooded her. She took his hand when he offered it. “Yeah, one day at a time.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chad poured four three-finger glasses of Scotch and gripped the tops of the crystal tumblers, carrying them to the poker table. Dixon, Drake, and Adam were playing tonight. The four of them were more or less the regulars. Frank, Joseph and the ranch manager, John Smith, rotated in when one of them couldn’t make it. This was the sixth week he’d sat in the same chair and played cards. He’d learned that Thursday night poker was a serious tradition, almost as serious as the ladies’ Supernatural and wine night. It was a damn good show. He’d gotten sucked in and had been Netflicking one or two a day for the last six weeks. At this rate, it would take another year to catch up, but with Guardian no closer to the killer, he had time.
“Thanks.” Dixon spoke around a mouthful of sandwich. Chad shook his head. The amount of food that the men around here consumed was astronomical. Of course, he’d also gotten roped into daily workouts with the Wonder Twins and Doc, as Chad had come to know the doctor. Doc had revealed the “Wonder Twins” moniker, and did that label pull a smile. The men ran the training complex and had designed the wind and solar farm in the next valley that powered the complex and kept it completely off the grid. They could throw the switch and use commercial power, but for the last year and a half, the complex hadn’t needed it. An energy farm also powered the ranch. The men were freaking geniuses, and he’d never met two more down to earth guys.
“Let’s start it easy with some five card draw.” Drake shuffled and set the cards in front of Chad for a cut before he dealt them out.
“Any word this week on your case?” Dixon asked right before he took another huge bite of roast beef sandwich.
“Nah, Jared said they had another lead on the guy about a week ago. I’m not getting my hopes up again. This guy is like a ghost.” Chad saw the look that passed between the other three. They did that often, and he’d gotten used to it. There was shit he couldn’t know.
“Did they get the DNA back? Who didn’t ante?” Doc tapped the table, and Dixon threw in his chips.
“They got the profile back, but there are no matches in the databases.”
Dixon upped the bet, and the rest of them called. Chad looked at his hand again and pulled two to discard. He had three threes. Not bad for a first hand.
“Jasmine over with Keelee and Ember?” Drake asked as he dealt the remainder of the hand.
“Yeah, and Amanda. They don’t miss a night of Dean and Sam.” Chad looked up from his cards.
“Or wine.” All four of them said at once, and laughed.
“How long you two worked for Guardian?” Chad asked the twins.
Dixon looked at Drake, and they both shrugged. “Seems like all our adult life. We did an enlisted hitch in the Marine Corps even though we both had master’s degrees in engineering at the time.”
“Told you we should have gone in as officers.”
“Did you want to keep shoveling shit on that Kentucky horse farm until we got commissions? It could have been over a year before they had slots for both of us.”
“True. Besides, we probably wouldn’t have met Mike if we waited for the commissions.”
“Mike?” Chad hadn’t heard that name before.
“Yeah, Mike’s a hell of a guy. He worked here for a while before he moved on. He’s probably the only man who speaks less than Joseph.”
Chad followed the latest bid. He hadn’t drawn the other three, but he had drawn a pair of sixes. Full house. “No shit. He talks less than Joseph?”
“Yep, Chief uses words sparingly.” Doc threw in his bet and called.
“Chief?”
“Nickname. He’s of Native American descent.”
“Do you know, he has yet to tell me what tribe he’s from?” Dixon put his hand down. “Three fives.”
“Hell, over the years, I’ve heard several guesses, but nothing from him.” Drake laid his hand down as he spoke. “Nothing.”
“Saw a picture of his mom and dad once. He got his looks from his mom and his stature from his dad. His dad was in a cop uniform, short hair, but even in the black and white picture it didn’t look like his dad was Native American.” Dixon spoke as Adam laid down his hand. “A pair of kings.”
“What were you doing snooping in his shit?” Drake asked.
Chad laid his cards down. “Full house.” He raked the pot in as the guys groaned.
“I wasn’t, it was when he got shot at Joseph’s place. I pulled his wallet out of his clothes that were torn to hell and the photo fell out. I put it back and let it be. And damn it, why does the rich guy win the pot?” Dixon took a pull of his drink.
Chad clucked his tongue and stacked his new chips. “You’ve won plenty off me, D-man.”
“I think you have me confused with him.” Dixon nodded toward Drake.
Chad shook his head. “Nope, since Doc told me about that scar, I’ve been able to tell the difference.”
“Damn it, Doc, You can’t be giving our secrets away like that!” Dixon whined.
Drake waved a hand in the air and replied, “He isn’t bound by any Hippocratic scar oath, you oaf.”
“Oaf? Seriously? If I’m an oaf what does that make you?”
Chad knew not to get in the middle of them. So did Doc. Adam leaned back in his chair and raised his eyebrow, waiting for the twins to remember they were playing a game. The man’s patch made him look sinister, but he was probably one of the nicest guys Chad had ever met—for a former mercenary. He’d laugh, but it was true, and that freaked him out just a little bit. Doctors weren’t supposed to be mercs… were they? In fact, most of the people at the ranch were either PSOs or mercenary team members, but there were several investigative types that rolled through to attend training. The hospital always seemed to have someone in it healing. Chad had gone over several times and had spent a couple of hours singing and chatting with those going through rehab or still in hospital beds.
They had played thre
e more hands before Chad refilled the glasses. He gave up the pretense and brought the bottle over.
“You getting antsy to get out of here yet?” The doctor’s question split the sudden silence.
Chad lifted his eyes from his cards and found all three men looking at him. “Nah, when this all blows over, I’m announcing my retirement.”
“Seriously? You pulling a Garth?” Dixon passed a bag of chips to his brother.
“No, he isn’t. Garth had a wife and two kids he was retiring to take care of… didn’t he?” Drake looked at Chad.
“Dude, that was before my time. I’ve heard a lot of different stories, but yeah, he did walk away. I have enough money to last, and other business ventures to keep me busy. I love life on the ranch. Hell, I’ve written ten songs and have the melody for at least three more. I’m happy here.” Chad grabbed a couple of kernels of popped corn and ate them.
“So, you could buy a spread around here.” Doc concentrated on his cards as he spoke.
“Yeah? Where? I think Frank and the Hollisters have all the land around here sewn up, don’t they?”
Dixon shook his head and looked at Drake. They both popped matching smiles. Doc shrugged and threw his discards into the pot. “The Koehlers had a ranch. It’s run down, and the house needs to be torn down, but there’s land, and it’s not too far from here. Jared’s husband Christian is one of the heirs. The boys asked Frank not to buy it because of the bad memories it holds for them and, well, no one else has that type of money to drop. You’d be out of the public’s eye. Hollister has learned not to be friendly to paparazzi. Hell, when it comes to protecting one of their own, those town folks can even be downright antisocial.”
Jasmine (Kings of Guardian Book 6) Page 20