by Cassie Miles
A simple move. Cole assumed Xavier had been planning to deal himself a winner from the bottom of the deck, so he took those five cards. Voilà! A full house.
Winning was convenient, but he didn’t really need that nudge. Xavier was ready to talk; the threat of an FBI investigation into his connection to known criminals had already loosened his lips. He readily admitted that he’d been in touch with Baron when he set up his initial financing. Further, he said that he’d agreed to the casino robbery, knowing that he could claim his missing cash from the insurance company.
“Then everything went wrong,” Xavier said. “One of my moron security guards—a guy who’s usually asleep in a back room—got trigger happy. Somebody else pulled the alarm.”
Cole knew how badly the robbery had been botched. He’d been there. “On the surface, the shoot-out makes it look like you double-crossed Baron.”
“It wasn’t my fault. I swear it.”
Having experienced Baron’s wrath when his men peppered the Shadow Mountain Lake house with bullets, Cole was surprised that Xavier wasn’t already dead. “There’s another piece to the robbery. You’re running an insurance scam of your own. You put in a claim for double the amount that was stolen.”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
Xavier’s poker face crumpled. “There’s only one way you could know how much was stolen. You were part of the gang.”
In order to extract information, Cole needed to balance truth with deception. He had to apply the right amount of pressure and not show his own disadvantages.
Leaning across the table toward Xavier, he said, “You weren’t surprised to see me when I walked in the door. You already knew I was one of the robbers. The feds have already sent you my mug shot.”
A twitch at the corner of Xavier’s mouth confirmed the statement. He knew.
Cole continued, “I infiltrated the gang. I was working undercover.”
Though confident in his ability to manipulate the old man, Cole had a weak spot, and her name was Special Agent Rocky Logan. Rachel had already told him that she was a lousy liar. He couldn’t predict what she’d say.
Apparently, Xavier realized the same thing. He turned toward her and glared through his thick glasses. “What about you, pretty lady? Where do you fit in?”
She narrowed her big blue eyes to a squint—an expression that she probably thought made her look tough. Cole thought she was adorable.
“I advise you to listen to my partner,” she said. “He’s trying to help you.”
“Is he?”
Cole said, “I’ve got a soft spot when it comes to you, Xavier. A long time ago, you pointed me in the right direction. Do the same thing now. Tell me about Baron.”
Xavier leaned back in his chair. “I’ve never met the man in person. I couldn’t ID him if he walked through the door right now. And I don’t know where he lives. When I talked to him on the phone, the calls were untraceable.”
“It’s hard to believe you set up complicated financial dealings without a meeting.”
“His secretary handled the paperwork.”
Secretary? “You met the secretary?”
“Sure did, but I can’t give you a good description. She was wearing a wig and a ton of makeup. Nice breasts, though. She showed plenty of cleavage.”
The makeup sounded like Penny. She applied it with a trowel. “How about her age?”
“The older I get,” Xavier said, “the younger the ladies look to me. I’d guess that she was in her thirties.”
“When did you see her last?”
“A couple of weeks ago. She was with a pregnant woman.”
Therefore, the secretary was not Penny. Then who? Cole had been part of the gang at that time, but he’d never come to Black Hawk with Penny. A memory clicked in the back of his mind: Pearl had mentioned meeting her daughter here.
Was Penny’s mother working for Baron? He didn’t want to believe that he’d been so blinded by guilt about Penny’s murder that he’d handed over the baby to another crook. When he’d looked into Pearl’s eyes, he hadn’t seen a hint of deception. She’d been heartbroken about her daughter’s death and ecstatic about her new grandbaby. “Did she wear jewelry? Maybe a string of pearls.”
Rachel gasped. If she hadn’t been thinking of Pearl, she was now.
Xavier pointed to his nicely manicured hands. “Just an engagement ring. A diamond. Not too flashy.”
That didn’t sound like Penny’s mother. She hadn’t been wearing an engagement ring when they saw her. Who was this mystery woman? Finding her was the key to finding Baron.
“I played square with you,” Xavier said. “What are you going to do to help me?”
“I suggest you call your insurance company and tell them you made a mistake about the amount of money stolen. They haven’t made a payout yet. They might let you off the hook.”
“Or refuse to pay.” Behind his glasses, his eyes darkened. “I need that money to keep going. The whole gang is dead except for you. If you could see your way clear to—”
“Can’t do it,” Cole said. “We have the loot.”
The lie slipped easily off his tongue. But Rachel wasn’t so calm. She fidgeted.
And Xavier noticed her nervous move. He zeroed in on her. “Do you? Have the money?”
Before she could stammer out an unconvincing answer, Cole rose from the green felt table. “We’re going.”
Rachel dropped the cards and stood. Her hands were trembling.
“You don’t have the cash,” Xavier said. “Baron’s procedure is to get the money away from the robbers as soon as possible so they won’t get greedy.”
“We know where it is,” Rachel said. “In a safe place.”
The old man sprang to his feet with shocking agility for a man of his years. “Take me with you. If I can turn in the money and prove that I’m working with the good guys, I could get out of this okay.”
“Not a chance,” Cole said.
“For old times’ sake,” he pleaded. “We’ve got history together. I know your friends. Whatever happened to your buddy from Vegas? That old guy named McClure?”
Moving swiftly and deliberately, Cole came around the table and took Rachel’s arm. As soon as he touched her, he knew he’d made a mistake. Xavier would see that his relationship to her was more than a professional association.
He rushed her toward the door. To Xavier, he said, “I’ll take care of you.”
Instead of making their way through the tables and slot machines in the front of the casino, Cole went to the rear. He pulled Rachel with him through a back door, setting off a screeching alarm.
They ran to Loughlin’s Jeep, dove inside and pulled out of the parking lot. As they were driving away, he saw the local police converge on the Stampede casino.
RACHEL HELD HER BREATH as Cole eased out of the casino parking lot with his headlights dark. How could he see? Moonlight wasn’t enough.
Sensing a turn, he whipped onto a side road that led past a row of houses. He turned again and headed uphill. The headlights flashed on. He took another turn and another, still climbing. Without snow on the road, his driving skills were expert but scary. She averted her gaze so she couldn’t see the speedometer as he fishtailed around a hairpin turn and started a descent. He flew down the narrow canyon road as fast as an alpine skier on the last run of the day.
Across an open field, he drove into forested land. The tall pine trees closed around them, and he slowed.
She exhaled. “How many times in your life have you made dramatic getaways?”
“Often.”
Her heart thumped so furiously that she thought her rib cage might explode. Her fingers clenched in a knot. Her skin prickled with an excess of adrenaline. Clearly, she wasn’t cut out for undercover work.
Not like Cole. He didn’t show the least sign of nervousness. Not now. And not in the casino. The whole time he’d been baiting Xavier, his aura of cool confidence had been unshaken. “How do
you do this?”
“Not very well,” he muttered.
“You’re kidding, right? You were like an old-time riverboat gambler. Sooooo smooth. Always one step ahead, even in that weird poker game. You cheated, right?”
“Yeah.”
“If I wasn’t familiar with the facts, I wouldn’t have known when you were lying and when you were telling the truth. How did you learn to bluff like that?”
“Blame it on genetics. When I first joined the FBI, one of the shrinks told me that I was uniquely suited to undercover work because of my innate behavioral makeup. He gave me a battery of tests, including a lie detector, which I faked out.”
“Not surprised,” she muttered.
“It seems that I’m a natural born risk-seeker. Most people are risk-averse, more cautious.”
“That would be me,” she said.
“Not from what you’ve told me about your boyfriends.”
“Okay, maybe I have a risk-seeking lapse when it comes to men. But I’m careful in every other area.”
“Being an EMT? Riding in an ambulance?”
“I left that work.” Because she couldn’t stand the pain of failure. “In every other way, I’m careful.”
“And yet, you’re riding in a getaway car. You could have backed out at the Loughlins’, but you chose to come with me.”
She had to admit that he had a point. They weren’t total opposites but definitely not peas in a pod. For one thing, she couldn’t tell a convincing lie to save her life. “The way you handled Xavier was amazing. You played him.”
“But I slipped up,” he said. “When we were leaving the room, I took your arm. That’s not the kind of gesture I’d use with another FBI agent. And you can bet that Xavier saw that I wanted to protect you. He’s no dummy. The old guy knows you’re important to me.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“It’s a tell,” he said. “Like in poker. You never want your opponents to know what you’re thinking. I let him see that you’re important to me.”
In a way, she was touched. In spite of the con, he couldn’t keep himself from responding to her. She looked down at her lap and pried her fingers apart. Then she reached toward him. When her hand touched his smoothly shaven cheek, he glanced toward her and grinned.
In that instant of eye contact, she saw his defenses slip away. He really did care about her. She whispered, “What are we going to do for the rest of the night?”
“There are plenty of hotels in Black Hawk and Central City, but they’re well-run and organized. The desk clerks might have my photo posted in front of their computers, especially after our escape from the Stampede.”
“Right.” She frowned. “Why exactly did you rush me out the back door?”
“I had an edgy feeling. When we first saw Xavier, he seemed to be stalling. Maybe he called somebody.”
“But when we left, he wanted to come with us.”
“I changed his mind,” Cole said. “For tonight, I’m thinking of a small motel, a mom-and-pop operation.”
Though she was glad that he wasn’t planning to drive straight through to Granby and confront Jenna Cambridge, she asked, “Should we go after the money tonight?”
“Too tired. My slip with Xavier showed me that I’m not at the top of my game. I’ve got to be sharp when we go back to Granby.”
Granby. Her home base. She would have loved to take him to her comfy condo, but she was well aware that her home was dangerous. The hunt for them was still active.
“I’m thinking,” he said, “that Jenna might be Baron’s mysterious secretary.”
The same idea had occurred to Rachel. “It makes sense. Penny said that she met Baron at the high school where Jenna teaches.”
“If she’s the secretary, we could be walking into a trap at her house. Tomorrow is Friday. Jenna will be at the high school, and we’ll have a chance to search her place for evidence without interference.”
When Penny had talked about her supposed friend, she’d never mentioned a connection with Baron. Though Rachel hated to think ill of the dead, Penny hadn’t been very perceptive. She’d cast Jenna in the role of a homely girl who needed advice on makeup and clothing—a non-entity, a sidekick.
The pattern was familiar. A flashy blonde like Penny always seemed to have a dull-as-dishwater friend tagging along. An accurate picture?
Penny’s mother also considered Jenna to be a friend, until she found out that Jenna encouraged her daughter’s relationship with Baron.
Cole cleared his throat. “There’s another woman I suspect.”
“Pearl.”
Rachel hated that alternative. “If Pearl was working with Baron, why wouldn’t she have told him we were hiding at Lily Belle’s? We were there all day. His thugs could have attacked us at any time.”
He nodded. “My gut tells me Pearl is innocent. But that might be wishful thinking. I’ve got to believe that Goldie is safe.”
“Pearl won’t hurt the baby,” she said with certainty. “As soon as she took Goldie into her arms, she was in love, and there’s nothing stronger than the bond that forms with an infant.”
“I’ll call her tomorrow morning,” he said. “If she’s working for Baron, I’ll find out.”
“How?”
He shrugged. “It’ll come to me.”
In other words, he would come up with a convincing lie. His talent for deception and manipulation was a bit unnerving; she couldn’t be certain of anything he said to her. “Can you teach me how to lie?”
“Why would I do that? I like your honesty.”
She wasn’t so sure. The truth might be her downfall.
Chapter Nineteen
The adobe-style motel with a blinking Vacancy sign promised low rates for skiers. Since nearby Eldora was one of the closest ski runs to Denver, not many people stayed in the area overnight. There were only four other vehicles parked outside the twelve units.
When Rachel entered room number nine, she felt oddly shy. Though she and Cole had spent the afternoon making passionate love, staying at a motel was different—not because there was a comfortable-looking bed or a shower with hot water. Tonight was planned; they intended to sleep together, and she couldn’t claim that she’d been carried away by the drama of the moment. Being here with him represented a deliberate choice. A decision she’d regret?
Every step closer to him deepened the feelings that were building inside her, and it was hard to keep those emotions from turning into something that resembled love. She couldn’t make that mistake. Cole wasn’t made for a serious relationship. Ultimately, he’d go back to California and leave her in the mountains. They had no future. None at all.
While she opened a greasy bag of fried chicken they’d picked up at a drive-thru, Cole did a poor man’s version of surveillance and security. He checked the window in the small but clean bathroom to make sure they had an escape route. Then he shoved the dresser in front of the door.
“What if the bad guys climb in through the bathroom window?” she asked as she pulled out a bag of fries and a deep-fried chunk of white meat.
“They won’t,” he said. “The lock on the front door is so pitiful that a toddler could kick it open.”
“Hence the dresser blockade.”
He posted himself at the edge of the front window curtain to watch the parking lot. “Pass me a thigh.”
“I had you figured for a breast man.”
“I start with the thigh and savor the breast.” He tossed her a grin. “But you already know that.”
Earlier when they’d made love, she noticed that he paid particular attention to her breasts. The memory tickled her senses. “Have you always been that way? I mean, with other women?”
“You’re starting again with the questions.” He mimicked her tone and added, “Do you always give men the third degree?”
She washed down a bite of chicken with watery soda. “In the normal course of events, I don’t jump into bed with somebody I’ve only known for
a couple of days. There’s a period of time when we talk and become familiar with each other.”
“Is that so?”
“You might have heard of the concept. It’s called dating.”
“Touché.”
Even though he spent a lot of time undercover, it was hard to believe that a good-looking, eligible guy like Cole hadn’t gotten himself hooked once or twice. She asked, “Have you ever had a serious girlfriend? Someone you lived with?”
“You mean like settling down? It’s not my thing.”
“You must have a home base. A bachelor pad.”
“I pay rent on an apartment, but I hardly ever spend time there. It took me over a year to hang pictures on the walls.”
She knew exactly what he was talking about. One of her brothers was the same way. He lived in a square little room with a beat-up futon and used pizza boxes for a coffee table. “Sounds lonely.”
“Sometimes.” He peeked around the edge of the curtain and sighed. “I wish I could have a dog.”
Great! His idea of a long-term commitment was canine. “What kind of dog?”
“Border collie,” he said without hesitation. “They’re smart and fast. And would come in handy if I ever wanted to herd sheep.”
Dragging information from Cole was like trying to empty Grand Lake with a teaspoon. “Is that a secret fantasy? Being a shepherd?”
“There are times when I wouldn’t mind having a ranch to tend and a couple of acres. Not heavy-duty farming but a place away from the crowds. A quiet place. Peaceful. Where I could raise…stuff.” He gnawed at his chicken and avoided looking her in the eye. “Someday, I want to have a family. When I hang out with my nieces, I get this feeling. An attachment.”
She remembered his look of wonderment when Goldie was born and his gentleness when he fed the baby her bottle. Maybe this undercover agent wasn’t such a confirmed loner, after all. If so, she was glad. Cole was a good man who deserved the comforts of home—a safe haven after his razor-edge assignments.
But was that what he really wanted? A niggling doubt skulked in the shadows of her mind. He might be lying, saying words he knew she wanted to hear. Deception was second nature to him, innate.