The Texas Ranger's Reward (Undercover Heroes)

by Winters, Rebecca

  “You were still in love at the end of your honeymoon?”

  “Yes. He was terrific to me and I assumed our wonderful lives would go on forever. Russ’s father is a prominent, well-to-do Realtor, and he gave us a luxury house in an elegant neighborhood near the University of Utah for a wedding present. We had everything the upwardly mobile couple could ask for. Except for one thing I didn’t see coming.”

  “What was that?”

  “You’ve heard of Jekyll and Hyde.”

  Travis’s features tautened. “How soon did he turn into Mr. Hyde?”

  She averted her eyes, remembering the moment as if it was yesterday. “The day after our return from Laguna Beach. He wanted to control me.” Her voice shook. “I’m not talking once in a while. I’m talking about every aspect of our lives. It was like a sickness.”

  “Why don’t we sit down while you tell me the rest.”

  “I can’t sit. Let me just tell you everything so you’ll understand me better.”

  He folded his arms and stayed silent.

  “Russ dictated when I went to bed, when I got up, what I cooked, what I ate,” she stated numbly. “What I wore, what I did, where I went, what I read, who I did things with, how I spent his money. He curtailed the amount of time we spent with my family. He hated the cabin. He hated it when I painted. He chose what we watched on TV. When I was home from school, he checked on me all the time.”

  A pained expression crossed Travis’s face, but he didn’t interrupt.

  “At first I thought I was living a nightmare. I prayed I would wake up, but it went on and on, and I knew I had to get out. But being beholden to both sets of parents, and knowing what our getting a divorce would do to them, I was afraid to tell them what was going on, afraid his parents would never believe me.”

  “You were trapped,” Travis said with conviction. “I’ve seen it with other victims.”

  She nodded. “The only thing he couldn’t control was my schoolwork and nursing classes. I immersed myself in my studies to stay mentally and emotionally away from him. I couldn’t bear for him to touch me. One afternoon he came home while I was studying for midterms. He wanted to make love. The thought was so abhorrent to me, I did the only thing I could do, and told him I didn’t have time.

  “He got this crazed look in his eye and yanked me out of the chair. I tried to push him away, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer and slapped me in the face, with such force, I fell to the floor.”

  “Melissa—”

  “Luckily, when I got up, he saw that my cheek was all red and swelling, and he asked me to forgive him. He promised he’d never do it again.” She swallowed hard. “I didn’t give him the chance, and fled the house with my car keys.”

  “Thank heaven.”

  “The next day I filed for divorce. He didn’t contest it. To my relief it went through without a hitch, and I never saw him again. But I heard he remarried, and it makes me ill for his new wife, just thinking about it.”

  Travis studied her for a tension-filled minute. “When I kissed you, it was the first time a man kissed you since your divorce, wasn’t it?” His voice was low.

  She drew in a deep breath. “I’ve dated a bit, but yes, you’re the first.”

  His dark brows met in a frown. “And it brought that horrific moment back.”

  “No, that’s not it. From the first time we met, I found myself attracted to you. When you told me I reminded you of your wife, I was utterly dismayed. Last night, when you watched me go in the town house, you said it was necessary because if you’d been on guard for your wife, she’d still be alive. To think that after six years I finally meet a man who appeals to me, and then I learn you only see Valerie when you look at me…

  “On the drive up the canyon today, I told myself I was going to be strong and fight the attraction I felt. But when you told me you wanted to kiss me, that’s what I wanted, too—more than anything. You know I did, and you know how much I enjoyed it. That’s what I meant earlier when I said you had the power to make me respond when I had no intention of doing so. I lost control with you, but that was my problem, not yours.”

  Her explanation appeared to satisfy him. “So after giving in, why did you stop?”

  “Because I remembered you were kissing her, not me. You were remembering your wife, and how you felt when she was in your arms. I could have gone on kissing you back, but I would have been lying to myself that it was me you really wanted.”

  He rubbed his jaw. “I can see that you and I both need more time together to dispel our ghosts from the past.”

  Melissa wished he hadn’t said that. “I’m glad you feel that way,” she whispered.

  His gaze was centered on her mouth, causing hers to tingle in response. “We’d better get going. I have to drop off the latest samples at the lab before I pick up Casey.”

  “I’m ready.”

  Together they left the cabin. Unburdening herself turned out to be cathartic. By the time they reached the truck in town, Melissa felt a lightening of her spirit.

  Once they were sitting in the cab, he gave her a searching glance. “Tell me something,” he said. “Were you reminded of your ex-husband when the employee at Grampy’s leered at you?”

  She nodded.

  “When you went pale like you did, I knew you’d been deeply disturbed.”

  “No wonder you Texas Rangers are so legendary. Nothing gets by you.”

  His disarming smile chased away her earlier fear that she might never see it again. “Let’s hope that holds true during my investigation.” He pulled the listening device from his pocket. “We know from those fresh cigarette butts that someone was in your cabin last night. I’m curious to hear what this picked up.” He turned it on so they could both listen.

  She heard a number of male voices. That alone made her shudder—to think a bunch of men were in the cabin’s kitchen as if they owned the place. Melissa listened more intently. “They’re all speaking Spanish. Do you understand what they’re saying?”

  “I can pick out a little, but they’re not conversing in the kind of Spanish I used to hear in Texas. This is a fast-paced dialect with certain phonetic changes I’m unfamiliar with. I’ll need Jose for this. He’s our expert.”

  Melissa watched Travis turn off the device and put it in his pocket. “What are you thinking?”

  “This and that.”

  “Travis—” she half moaned in frustration “—that was one of your nonanswers again.”

  His jaw hardened. “After I get back to the office, I’ll look through the camera memory cards and will know a lot more. Once I’ve pieced everything together, I’ll tell you my suspicions.”

  He didn’t have to say it; a bunch of men up to no good had to be armed and dangerous.

  He switched on the ignition. On the way out of town he stopped in front of the Quickie Mart. “I have to go inside, but I’ll only be a minute. Do you want anything?”

  “No, thank you.”

  Maybe he needed to use the restroom, Melissa decided. But with him you never could tell, because he operated on his own private agenda. Whatever was going on, the tension was building.

  * * *

  TRAVIS ENTERED THE MART, where he’d arranged to meet Jose back by the cold drinks section. His friend had driven up in the R & T Painting Company truck from the P.I. shop. It had been parked alongside a dozen other vehicles. There were still a lot of tourists on vacation.

  When Travi
s found him, he was dressed in a painter’s overalls and cap. They both reached for a Coke. Travis took a second one in case Melissa wanted one. “What did you find out so far?”

  “The same man and a woman I tailed Tuesday showed up at Grampy’s for work at five to ten. They drove the same cars as before. I checked with the DMV and found out there’s no police record or warrants out on them. Both driving records are clean.

  “Our man with the tattoo left the camper on foot and arrived at Grampy’s at eleven. I’ll watch till he goes off shift and follow him again. When I find out anything else, I’ll let you know.”

  Travis nodded. “I’ll check to see if those fingerprints taken at the cabin produce results. Who knows? We might get lucky and some names will turn up, his among them. You’ve got enough backup?”

  “Plenty.”

  “Good. When you’ve got a minute, listen to this and give me your expert opinion.” He handed him the listening device. “I pulled it from the flowers in the kitchen.”

  “I’ll do it as soon as I get back in the truck.”

  “Thanks.”

  Travis went to the checkout stand first to pay for his drinks, then joined Melissa in the truck. “I bought you a Coke.”

  “Thank you.”

  On the way down the canyon he decided to share some information with her. He was aware he’d been secretive, yet she never asked about the case. That was a quality he respected in her more than she could possibly realize.

  “I went in the mart to meet up with Jose and give him the listening device. He’ll translate for me when he gets a chance.”

  She nodded. “You don’t do anything without a reason.”

  They had just emerged from the canyon when Jose phoned. Travis picked up. “What’s new?”

  Jose whistled, and that alone told him plenty. “Give me five minutes and I’ll call you back,” Travis suggested.

  “It’s probably a good idea you’re alone when I tell you.”

  He didn’t like the sound of that. “Understood.”

  He drove straight to Melissa’s town house and pulled up in front. She climbed out in a hurry and retrieved her pack from the backseat.

  “Casey and I will be over at six to get you,” he said.

  “You still want me to come?” She looked anxious.

  “At the cabin I thought we agreed we needed to get to know each other better. Or have you changed your mind?”

  “No,” she said quickly. “No. But let me come to you. Give me directions to your house and I’ll be there at six, okay?”

  He agreed. And her positive response relieved him. They had things to work out. After she’d unburdened herself today, he feared she’d retreat emotionally before they got to know each other better. Travis didn’t think he could handle that. Much to his surprise, he recognized she was becoming important to his existence.

  And he realized that he was seeing Melissa in her own right and not as a clone of Valerie. In time he hoped to prove it to her.

  “Okay, see you later.”

  She nodded. After she’d gone inside the condo, he pulled out his phone and rang Jose. “Go ahead and tell me what you heard. I’m alone now.”

  “It’s all coming together, Travis. Those men in the cabin are from Colombia. I counted four distinct voices. They’re speaking the Choquano dialect from the northern coastal region. They talked about the hard work and the isolation. One of them said the pay was going to be great, so stop complaining. Another talked about finding women when this was over. They were getting tired of the job.

  “One complained of a bad toothache. Another guy said he was going to jump the woman whose bedroom was upstairs before they cleared out. He described in detail what he wanted to do to her. His friend suggested they wait to get paid, then kidnap her. She would be of interest to the boss, who’d want her for himself.

  “It could be worth a lot of extra dinero for them if they took her back with them, he said. Her family wouldn’t know what had happened to her, and would never be able to find her. There was laughter and then silence.”

  Rage curled Travis’s hands into fists. The mention of their plans for Melissa twisted his gut. If Casey hadn’t told her about Travis’s job while they were at the movie, she might not have sought help soon enough to avoid the fate awaiting her. At least he could be thankful that Valerie hadn’t been molested before she was killed.

  “Travis?” Jose said in concern. “Are you all right?”

  Travis struggled for breath. “No. And I won’t be until these vermin are caught and put away in prison to rot. If this is a big operation like the one on Boulder Mountain, then there’s a lot more at stake and we’re dealing with men who’ll kill to protect their crop.”

  “Which means there’s a lot of money behind them.”

  “I’ve got my work cut out finding those plants, so we’ll know exactly what we’re up against. Let’s hope the next recording gives us some kind of time line for their activities. With it being mid-September, they have to be coming to the end of the harvest.”

  “Agreed. I’m here on surveillance when you want to talk.”

  The call ended. Travis dropped off the new samples at the lab, then swung by the school to pick up Casey. In a couple of hours they’d be seeing Melissa again. He could hardly wait.

  Chapter Eight

  Melissa followed Travis’s directions to his house in the Lone Peak Estates and pulled up in front. She loved the country-cottage-style home on sight. White trim enhanced the stone exterior and matched the white fencing.

  Casey answered her knock. Apparently Travis was tied up on the phone, so Casey and Dexter took her on the grand tour. Dark honey flooring ran from the foyer throughout the downstairs. The mix of traditional and contemporary furnishings reflecting the wood tones against soft yellow walls gave the interior a warm, livable feel.

  She accompanied Casey into the formal dining room with its decorative columns. It led to the two-story great room with a stone fireplace, and beyond it, the kitchen and breakfast room done in sage accents.

  He then led her to their bedrooms at the rear of the house. At the first one he announced, “This is my room.”

  She could tell. It had everything a boy could want. “I love it, especially your posters of Spider-Man and Optimus Prime.”

  But there was something else she loved more: the framed photograph of his father in his Texas Ranger uniform hanging over the bed. Travis looked younger in the picture and handsome as sin.

  Her gaze darted to more family photographs propped on his dresser. Casey took one and showed it to Melissa. It was a head shot of his mother, wearing a crew-neck top like the one Melissa had worn today.

  She gasped, seeing the smiling woman. They did have definite similarities. In this picture, her light brown hair was pulled back the way Melissa’s was. It revealed the tiny blue sparkling jewels in her ears that matched her blue-gray eyes. Eyes like Melissa’s.

  To see this photo of his wife, after hearing of their likeness, explained so much about Travis’s initial reaction to Melissa at the clinic. She put it back on the dresser before looking at Casey.

  “You must miss her very much.”

  His sigh spoke volumes. “Yup, but she’s gone to heaven. You’re nice and pretty, just like her. I wish you lived with us all the time.”

  Melissa moaned inwardly, while her throat swelled. “Thank you, Casey,” she whispered, knowing she didn’t dare tell him the same thing back. “That’s the greatest compliment I ever recei
ved.” She couldn’t deal with the pain any longer. “Shall we finish the tour?”

  “Okay. Come on, Dexter.”

  They went to Travis’s bedroom, which had a coffered ceiling and luxurious bath. Melissa didn’t stay to look around for other pictures of his wife.

  There were two more bedrooms at the top of a white staircase. The house was utterly charming, but she found the real character of their home came from the prints and two oil paintings hanging on the walls. Casey said they’d brought them from Texas. The big one in the dining room showed a field of gorgeous Texas bluebonnets.

  The other oil, a very large one in the great room, showed a black stallion racing ahead of some other horses. It was obviously a favorite, and had been signed. The artist had caught the beauty and swiftness of horses in motion. From experience Melissa knew it was a hard thing to capture.

  “This is fabulous,” she told Travis as he walked into the room.

  He studied it for minute. “Before Casey and I left Texas, the Rangers in my district took up a collection to buy this for me. The artist is becoming famous. Nothing could have surprised or pleased me more.” His voice was thick with emotion.

  Tears stung her eyelids, but she refused to cry. “They must have thought the world of you. Did you ride a lot?”

  “All my life. Mostly for pleasure, sometimes on the job.”

  “Are your parents still living, Travis?”

  “No,” Casey answered for him. “They were killed by a train when he and Aunt Pat were babies. Their truck stalled on the track and they couldn’t get out in time.”

  Melissa gulped. “That’s awful.”

  “I know. My grandpa was a Texas Ranger, too!”

  “I didn’t know that.”