Southern Sass (Southern Desires Series Book 6)

by Jeannette Winters

  “Finally something we agree on.”

  Sissie had a feeling that was the one and only time she’d hear those words from Ryan. She wanted to go back inside, but she still wanted Donna to have some time for herself. She couldn’t think of anything to say to keep him outside longer.

  “Do you want to take a walk?”

  Ryan shook his head. “Did you already forget what I told you? Things are not as safe as you may think they are.”

  “I haven’t forgotten.” It was just first thing that came to my mind. “It’s just a nice night, and I thought maybe . . .”

  Ryan smiled, and his eyes roamed over her. With a husky voice he said, “We could have some alone time.”

  Heck no. Not even close. But if that was going to work, she’d play along. “I’m . . . enjoying our conversation.” She had to hold back her laughter because this had been torture so far and here she was trying to encourage it to continue.

  Sissie almost jumped out of her skin when Ryan reached out and took her hand in his. “A short one.”

  He pulled her closer to him and led her around the porch and down the stairs. Sissie kept trying to speak and tell him she was only joking, yet nothing came out. Her thoughts were cluttered with the feel of his fingers entwined with hers. It was such a simple gesture, yet she couldn’t pull away if she tried. What am I, sixteen?

  As they walked down the street, the sounds from the Wild Sass faded off. She was used to the noise; it never bothered her. Since everyone seemed to be at the party, the streets were vacant, and once they were far enough away, she found the silence welcoming. It was funny that she said she wanted to talk more, yet neither of them had said a word.

  They came to the bend of the street outside the sheriff’s office. The lights were on, and she could see Jack inside. He was on his cell phone and didn’t appear to be happy. That wasn’t like him at all. She didn’t want this time with Ryan to end, but she needed to know what was going on.

  Stopping abruptly she said, “Can you excuse me for a minute? I need to . . . check with the sheriff about tomorrow.”

  Ryan didn’t let her hand go. “I’ll come with you.”

  Telling Ryan no would be a waste of breath. She was strong-willed, but compared to him, she was a wet noodle. Nodding, she led the way into the office. Ryan let go of her hand and opened the door.

  Jack got off the phone quickly once he saw who was at his door. That only increased Sissie’s desire to know even more. It’s like he doesn’t know me. Shooting him a huge smile she said, “Howdy, Jack. I thought we’d stop and check on you since you didn’t stop by the party tonight.”

  They both knew that was a lie. Jack had already given her a stern warning about it. Ryan, on the other hand, was clueless to their little chat earlier. Having one up on Ryan felt good. Even though it’s not much of one.

  “Someone has to be here in case one of those guys gets too drunk and needs a ride home.”

  Sissie laughed. Jack had given many of the boys a ride home over the years, but for the most part, they just slept it off on the porch on a bench. “Well, that’s mighty kind of you, Jack.”

  He tipped his hat to her and said, “Just doin’ my job. What brings you two out tonight? I thought for sure you’d be at the Sass.”

  What you really want to know is why I ain’t at the Sass. Well, that’s a funny story for another time. “Just out for some fresh air.”

  She noticed that Jack wasn’t surprised one bit to see Ryan there. It seemed everyone was in the loop except her. That was not acceptable. She was heavily involved just like the others, if not more so. They expected her to keep people at her establishment because they told her to.

  “I do hope you two are headin’ back. The party should be comin’ to an end soon, and you know no one is leavin’ till you throw them out,” Jack said while looking at the clock on the wall.

  It was only ten o’clock. If Jack wanted to cause a ruckus, all he needed to do was shut that party down early. There was something behind that request, and she knew it had to do with whatever he was talking about when she and Ryan came in. Ryan obviously picked up on that as well because he seemed to tense. She knew why too. Donna’s there.

  Although she didn’t get any real information from Jack, it would need to wait. Her first priority was making sure everyone got home safely. “Then I guess we best get a move on. Don’t be a stranger, Jack.”

  “You’ll be hearin’ from me sooner than later.”

  She nodded and headed out the door with Ryan right behind her. Once outside they picked up their pace heading back. “I’m sure it’s okay,” Ryan said.

  Sissie looked at him briefly then back at the Wild Sass, which was still a few hundred yards away. It was the only building with lights on at that time of night.

  “I sure hope so.” The concern in her heart came through in her voice.

  Ryan took her hand in his again. This time it was different. He gave hers a squeeze of support as they continued onward. As they climbed the stairs, it sounded as it had when they’d left. That’s good. But about to change.

  Even before they entered Sissie noticed the music had stopped. Mark must’ve called Lou and given him instructions to shut it down. That was confirmed when she walked inside and saw everyone’s expression. They were puzzled by the abrupt end of the party. That’s not how things went around here. It was going to be up to her to smooth this out.

  She normally focused on making people feel comfortable and welcome. Sissie needed to do the entire opposite without telling them to get out. Good thing she was a fast thinker.

  Forcing one of her huge smiles, she said, “Y’all listen up. I got to get this place ready for a baby shower tomorrow, and unless y’all want to be puttin’ up pink decorations and blowin’ up balloons and talkin’ about birthin’ babies for the next few hours, y’all best head home.”

  The room echoed in grumbling, but it emptied so fast the door never shut before the next one left. Each one stopped and gave her a different excuse on why they couldn’t stay. It was almost a game of who could top the one before. One even said they were meeting with the president in the morning and needed their beauty sleep.

  They were down to only a handful. Sissie eyed them, and they weren’t people she knew. That meant they were either Mark’s or Ryan’s people. Either way, she’d done her part. The saloon was closed for business as directed.

  Donna made her way over to them with a strange look in her eye. “Don’t you leave. You’re on decoration duty, remember?”

  Donna looked between Ryan and her. Sissie noticed only the briefest hint of surprise on her face at seeing her father there before it disappeared. It was as though she almost expected him. At least one of us was. There was so much about Ryan that had her feeling like a hot mess emotionally. Only then did she realize they were still holding hands. Quickly she pulled hers away. That only made her look guilty of something when there really wasn’t anything between her and Ryan. Not now nor will there ever be.

  “No problem. I’ve got this, and I think I know exactly who is going to be my assistant for all these high places I can’t reach.” Donna turned to Ryan and said, “Looks like you’re working with me, Dad.”

  Donna turned and walked away, obviously upset. Sissie knew it must look as though she’d planned meeting up with Ryan and never told her. Telling her any different wasn’t going to come across as the truth. Heck, I wouldn’t believe it either.

  Ryan put a hand on her shoulder and said, “Go get your rest. Tomorrow’s a big day. I think Donna and I need to talk.”

  And I don’t want to be here for that. Sissie nodded. “Just remember the look on her face earlier. Don’t end the night on a bad note.”

  “I know what to say.”

  “It’s more about listening tonight. You can do the talking the next time.”

  With that Sissie left Ryan in the saloon and headed upstairs to her apartment. Ryan wasn’t the only one who had things to deal with. She thought she was ju
st throwing a fun baby shower. The only thing she’d been concerned with was Casey having the baby there. Never had she thought there could be a terrorist attack. And yet Ryan actually thinks I can sleep tonight. Sure. No pressure on me.

  With Donna and Ryan downstairs she had nothing to do but think and worry. She needed to keep busy. Doing a crossword or reading wasn’t going to accomplish anything. So instead of going to bed, she walked over to her closet. Pushing her clothes aside she started pulling each of her guns and rifles out. One by one she laid them on her bed. Sissie knew exactly how she needed to occupy her time. Cleaning them.

  Chapter Four

  “You’re joking, right? There’s no way in hell I’m attending a baby shower.” Ryan couldn’t believe Collins even suggested such a thing.

  “Watson, you’re the outsider who they’d welcome. It has to be you.”

  “Don’t you have any females on your team that you could’ve brought in?”

  “No,” Collins replied.

  That didn’t make any sense. Ryan knew damn well he had access to one hell of a female soldier. Just months ago he’d even provided a safe haven for Master Sargent Margret Graham and Wyatt McVeigh. Bringing her in now would be the perfect solution. God knows I’m not.

  “What about Maggie?”

  “She’s no longer an option.”

  “She’s not?”

  “No. Maggie’s been given a new identity. A fresh start in life. Maggie Graham no longer exists.”

  Damn. He was there for part of what went down a few months ago. Hell, it was his bunker the terrorist tried blowing up to retrieve Maggie and Wyatt. Ryan knew it wasn’t over, but if Maggie needed a new identity, there still was so much Collins wasn’t sharing.

  “Collins, I need the truth. All of it,” Ryan demanded.

  Mark downed his coffee then got up from the table. Ryan could see he was on edge.

  “You know what you need to know.”

  “That’s not enough.” He was nearly seething he was so angry. But mostly he was angry because he had used that same line with both Donna and Sissie. Now he understood their indignation. He wasn’t used to being on the outer edge, and he didn’t like it.

  “This isn’t something that started a year or two ago. This is a web of evil and corruption that’s been in effect for many years. It’s about power.”

  “I’m a businessman. I can relate.”

  Mark shook his head. “You think you can. This isn’t about money. Their idea of power is through terror. The more fear you can instill in others, the more power and control you hold.”

  “What have they done?”

  “They killed many, trying to obtain a formula that could wipe out the United States. Fuck, it could wipe out the human race.”

  “What exactly does it do?” The entire human race seemed a bit farfetched.

  “When added to water, it would render a human totally paralyzed within seconds and unfortunately dead within minutes.”

  Ryan knew it was big, but not this big. That was something you’d see in a movie, not in real life. “And this exists?”

  “Unfortunately, yes. That’s what Jeremy Talroy was after.”

  It worried him more knowing Donna had once worked for JT. Arranging to terminate her position at FEMA seemed drastic back then. He’d done it so she’d have no option but to come home and be close. Now he knew the decision might have saved Donna’s life.

  “Where is the formula now?”

  Mark shot him a warning look. “Watson, you know damn well I’m not ever going to tell you that.”

  “You’re a soldier, Collins, not a biochemist,” Ryan barked.

  “Neither are you, but the one who created it is in my protection. And I’ll do everything in my power to ensure it never gets into the wrong hands. Now you know why no one knows everything.”

  Except you. Ryan had his own set of secrets. As far as he knew, even Collins didn’t know the truth. He’d never said anything to protect Donna. With what Collins just said, Ryan was sure there was some connection between his wife’s death and what was going on now.

  “Because anyone who was involved died.”

  Marked arched a brow and said, “She’s not dead.”

  “Trust me, she is.”

  Collins walked over and sat across from Ryan, staring at him. He knew Collins didn’t know what had happened.

  “Like you, there are things no one else knows. I don’t have all the facts, but somehow I have a feeling you know the missing piece.”

  “There’s only one way to find out. Tell me.”

  “Trust goes two ways. Agreed?”

  He could tell Mark didn’t like it, but Ryan wasn’t about to share a damn thing with him unless he agreed. “You have no idea.”

  “Neither do you,” Ryan answered coldly.

  “Agreed.”

  Ryan hated speaking of it. It was the most painful thing he’d ever gone through. Now he needed to relive it. “What do you know about my wife?”

  Mark shook his head. “Nothing except she died several years ago.”

  “Her name was Janet. She was brilliant. Guess that’s where Donna gets her brains. She was a top neurologist who was studying Alzheimer’s and was approached by a woman who said she was on the verge of having a cure. Janet was ecstatic and dashed off to meet with her. It wasn’t the first person who had approached Janet regarding research, but usually they only wanted to pump Janet for her information and share none of their own. That wasn’t the case that time. When Janet returned, she was full of hope and said the dream was going to become a reality. Nothing took that smile off her face. I asked her for details, but she said she couldn’t share even with me.” Even with me. Those words still haunted him.

  “Did she say who she met with?”

  “No. She was supposed to go back and meet with her again. She received a very brief call one night when we were in bed. Whatever she was told, Janet burst out in tears and said it was lost. All lost.” For all the joy Janet had shown before, he’d never seen his wife so broken as that night.

  “Did they talk again?”

  “No, and she wouldn’t speak about it again. In fact, she stopped working on her own research after that day. But a few months later Janet said she was meeting with someone at the Pentagon. They wanted to talk to her about her research. When she came back from her trip, she became very ill within hours. At first I thought she had influenza. I wanted to take her to the hospital, but she refused, saying she was a doctor and could care for herself. She became sicker each day. I told her we could afford any specialist, but she wouldn’t go. Instead, she asked me to take her to the bunker. It made absolutely no sense. There wasn’t anyone there except the two of us. I couldn’t do anything to help her. All we knew was she needed to be in isolation, away from anyone.” Especially Donna.

  “It must’ve been hell.”

  “You have no idea. Each day I watched her through the glass. She’d drawn blood samples and ran tests. I asked her what she was doing, and she said looking for the cure. One she never found.”

  “I’m sorry, but I need to know.”

  “What?” Ryan looked Collins directly in the eyes and waited.

  “What did she say?” Collins asked.

  “Besides to tell Donna she loved her?” Ryan asked sarcastically.

  “Yes,” Mark said in a tone Ryan wasn’t used to hearing from him.

  Ryan remembered how Janet looked. Her hair had all fallen out. Her skin was blotched with sores, and she couldn’t eat or drink anymore. All his money meant nothing. All he could do was watch his wife die. “That I can never tell anyone what happened. To let everyone believe she’d been killed in an accident. That if I didn’t Donna wouldn’t be safe.”

  “And have you told anyone?”

  “Hell no. She also told me to trust no one.”

  Janet was a person who always saw the good in another person while Ryan had trust issues from the start. Hence, the bunker. He’d built it in case he needed to h
ide his family if a business deal went bad. He’d never thought it’d be used in the manner it had been. To say goodbye to someone I loved.

  “What aren’t you telling me?” Collins asked.

  Ryan could feel his heart racing. Talking now was going against Janet’s last wish. If what happened to Janet was intentional and could happen to Donna, he needed Collins’s help. “Janet took tissue and blood samples of herself. She said someday I might need them. And I’d know when that day had come. I have a feeling she was talking about now. Am I right?”

  “I don’t know. Where are the samples?”

  “Hidden away in the bunker.”

  “I’ll send someone to retrieve them.”

  “Only I have access or have you forgotten that?”

  “Then I guess you’re not attending the baby shower after all.”

  Guess not.

  Mark leaned forward and asked, “Do you know who Janet met with at the Pentagon?”

  “She wouldn’t tell me. After her death, I went through her personal calendar. Only initials, GF. I tried, but couldn’t find anyone who matched that.” Ryan could tell by Mark’s expression they meant something to him. “You know, don’t you?”

  Mark nodded. “General Floyd.”

  A general? He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Collins was in the military, and he was admitting that their own military was involved somehow. Since I’ve never seen you smile, I know you aren’t joking about this. “I want to talk to him,” Ryan demanded.

  Talking with Floyd was only a start. If he had anything to do with his wife’s death, it’d be followed by slow torture the same as Janet went through. And the bastard would wish he was dead. I don’t care who he is.

  “He’s dead.”

  “Fuck.” Ryan was filled with disappointment and a hell of a lot of questions he needed answers to. “How?”

  “The people he was working with had him assassinated.”

  Ryan was slowly putting the pieces together. Everything he thought was a coincidence now fit into one ugly puzzle. “You mean JT.”