by Rita Herron
“Mia, are you all right?”
She nodded. “Let’s just get this over with.”
He gave a small lopsided smile, and her heart stuttered. Please don’t look at me like that, she pleaded silently. Not like I’m a delicate flower you want to protect.
Or hold.
Because if he tried to touch her, she might just collapse into his arms.
Thankfully oblivious to her thoughts, he opened the car door, and they walked up the brick path to the front door of the English Tudor mansion. A maid answered the doorbell, scowling when Alex introduced himself.
The older Hispanic woman recognized Mia immediately, and averted her eyes as if she didn’t know what to say to her. Mia had always wondered if the servants in the house knew about Geoff’s violent tendencies. If so, they’d probably been paid well for their silence.
Esmeralda offered them coffee or tea, but they both declined. Ten minutes later, her bravado slipped as Mrs. Jones walked in, her features rigid with hatred. Mr. Jones followed, his scathing look cutting her to the bone.
“What are you doing here?” Mrs. Jones asked, her bracelets clanging as she pointed at Mia.
“You know why I came,” Mia said.
Alex cleared his throat. “Please sit down, Mr. and Mrs. Jones. We need to talk about your son.”
“He should never have been locked in that horrid place,” Mrs. Jones said, her voice vibrating with contempt.
Disapproval hardened Mr. Jones’s already icy look. “My wife is right.”
“Your son was found guilty by a jury of his peers,” Alex said. “But we aren’t here to debate his innocence or guilt. He and the two other prisoners who escaped physically attacked and murdered two guards, putting three others in the hospital. Geoff is a wanted felon, and when he’s caught, and he will be caught, if he resists arrest, officers will shoot to kill.”
Mrs. Jones’s face drained of color, making Mia almost feel sorry for her. She looked thinner than ever, her cheeks almost gaunt, dark circles beneath her eyes that even her expensive make-up couldn’t hide.
Had the woman been in such deep denial about her son that she really hadn’t believed he’d caused Mia’s injuries?
Of course, she’d spoiled him rotten when he was young. She also lived vicariously through him and his accomplishments.
Geoff’s father was as controlling, rigid, and demanding as Geoff had been. She’d read enough about spousal abuse to see that Mrs. Jones had been battered all her life. She probably believed her son was being a good husband as hers had been.
That his job was to train Mia to be the perfect wife.
Mr. Jones smoothed down his tie, his voice curt. “Sgt. Townsend, if my son is injured, I will hold you personally responsible.”
“Your son chose to escape, putting himself in harm, so if you blame anyone for his predicament, blame him.” Alex steepled his hands. “Which is the reason I’m here. Did you know of his plans to escape?”
“Of course not,” Mrs. Jones said. “We were putting together an appeal to get that bogus conviction overturned.”
“Mrs. Jones,” Mia cut in. “The conviction was not bogus. Your son assaulted me and almost killed me. I have the scars to prove it.”
“You’re lying,” Mr. Jones snapped. “My son is smart and charming. You’re a whore who just wanted his money.”
Mrs. Jones stood, her narrow jaw set firmly. “You’re not welcome in this house, Mia. You should be the one in jail for filing false charges and maligning my son’s reputation.”
“He maligned it when he sliced open my stomach and I almost bled to death,” Mia said. When he killed their unborn baby.
“Sit down, Mrs. Jones.” Alex turned to Geoff’s father, interrupting a rebuttal from the older man. “Have you heard from your son, Mr. Jones?”
The man shot Alex a cool look. “No. He’s too smart to call here. He knows you’re probably monitoring our phones and house.”
Mia glanced at Alex, wondering if that was true or if he needed a warrant.
Alex narrowed his eyes. “Did you know about his plans to escape?”
“Of course not,” Mr. Jones said. “I would have persuaded him to wait until this appeal came through.”
He sounded awfully confident. Perhaps he’d paid off a judge.
But if so, why hadn’t Geoff waited instead of risking his life in a prison break?
“I hope you’re telling the truth,” Alex said. “Because if I find out you helped your son escape or assisted him in any way, I will arrest you for aiding and abetting a felon.”
Mr. Jones shot to his feet and gestured toward the door. “Now, Sergeant, it’s time you left. And if you know what’s good for you, you won’t bring that woman back here again.”
“That sounds like a threat,” Alex said tersely.
In spite of her best efforts, a shiver rippled up Mia’s spine. It had been a threat and everyone in the room knew it. During the trial and even afterwards, the couple had crucified her in the media. They’d actually hired a man to intimidate her, but Alex had caught the man. That act had only made things worse for Geoff.
Alex glanced Geoff’s mother. “If you don’t want your son hurt, Mrs. Jones, I suggest you convince him to turn himself in. If you don’t and he’s injured or killed, his death will be on your conscience, not mine.”
ALEX STORMED OUT OF THE JONES’S HOUSE WITH MIA CLOSE BESIDE him. He’d known questioning them would probably be a waste of time, but he’d had to try.
Mrs. Jones was obviously terrified for her son. But she was more afraid of her husband. The asshole threw his power and money around as if he was God and everyone else should bow to him, and had taught his son to do the same.
“Do you think they’ve spoken to Geoff?” Mia asked when the door slammed behind them.
“Absolutely,” Alex said. “Mr. Jones may act cool, but he has a tell.”
“What is it?”
“He scratches his temple with one finger. I watched him during the trial and picked up on it.”
“But they’re going to protect Geoff,” Mia said as she climbed in his SUV.
He shrugged. “Protecting him would mean cooperating with us to save his life. Because if he lays a hand on you, I’ll kill the bastard.”
Mia fastened her seatbelt. “I never wanted him hurt,” she said softly. “I just wanted to get away from him.”
Alex pulled onto the road. Mia was amazing. Even after all the pain and suffering Geoff had put her through, she wasn’t vindictive. “You said in the trial that he didn’t know about the baby ahead of time. Do you think it would have made a difference?”
Pain wrenched her face, making him regret the question. “No.” She fidgeted and glanced back at the house for a moment. “Maybe. Although he was insanely jealous. More than once, he accused me of sleeping around.”
His gaze met hers. He refused to ask.
“And no, I never did,” she said firmly. “But if a man, even one of his friends who he wanted to impress, smiled at me, he flew into a rage later that night and accused me of flirting.”
“Some people think abusers need psychiatric help,” he said darkly. “But any man who beats up on a woman is nothing but a low down coward.”
A strained silence fell between them as they drove. Alex wanted to comfort Mia, remind her that none of this was her fault, but his phone buzzed, and he saw it was his superior so he snatched it up.
“Townsend, it’s Chief Dunn.”
“Any word on the prison escape?”
“Cantrell is in charge of the search for Larry Buckham and I’ve put Deke Mann on the Simpleton investigation. He has a lot of experience with serial killers. Any news on Jones?”
Alex relayed his conversation with Jones’s parents. “I think they’ve talked to him, but they’ll never admit it. Have the tech team analyze their financials. They probably set up funds for Geoff in an offshore account somewhere.”
“All three of them may already have fake ID and passports t
o aid them in leaving the country,” Chief Dunn said. “We’ve alerted bus and train stations, airports, the border patrol as well as the cruise lines.”
Alex gritted his teeth. Geoff had enough money that he could hire a private jet.
“He’ll come for Mia first.” Alex’s jaw tightened at the sliver of fear that slanted Mia’s mouth.
“We’ve already pulled the Jones’s phone records,” Chief Dunn said. “So far nothing suspicious on the home line or Jones’s cell, but we’re still hunting.”
“They’re probably using prepaid cells,” Alex said. “Geoff Jones was a lawyer. He’s smart and would have known the police would examine his phone records and financials along with his parents’ for suspicious activity.”
Still, they had to search.
“How about Jones’s cell mate?” Alex asked.
“The FBI has sent in a team to interrogate the inmates to find out exactly what happened and how the men orchestrated the escape.”
“Hell, the inmates are so ingenious they can make shanks out of anything,” Alex said. And contraband was easier to get than anyone could imagine.
“Tell me about it. They’ve had five murders at that prison in the last two months. The prison is on full lockdown now pending a massive investigation.”
“I’m on my way back to the ranch where Mia works,” Alex continued. “There are a couple of new hired hands that I want to talk to. And I might pay a visit to the prison myself. In spite of the friends Jones bought, he probably made a few enemies.”
“Good idea.” They agreed to stay in touch, and Alex lapsed into silence as he drove back to the Crossties.
When they arrived at the ranch, he scanned the property as they drove past the welcome sign that had been carved into two pieces of wood shaped like a railroad crossing sign. He hadn’t ridden the property yet, but he could already tell there were way too many ways to sneak onto this place and get to Mia.
“I need to exercise a couple of the horses before dinner,” she said.
“Saddle them up while I check my computer and we’ll ride out together. Then we can meet up with the ranch hands for questioning.”
She nodded. “I can’t let Geoff run my life again, Alex.”
“No, but you also have to be realistic, Mia. He will come for you so we have to be ready.”
Resignation flickered in her eyes, but she didn’t comment.
He parked and climbed out, then grabbed his laptop and started around the front of the car to open her door, but she’d already slid from the seat and was heading up the porch.
Just as he stepped up behind her, she suddenly tensed and gasped.
“What is it, Mia?”
She gestured toward the door with a shaky hand, and he moved up beside her and saw a bouquet of lilies sitting in front of the door.
He knelt to pick up the card, his anger flaring at the words scribbled on the outside.
“I know what it says,” she whispered in a tortured voice. “Nobody loves you like I do.”
He glanced down at the card. She was right. He’d heard Jones say those very words to her in court. But instead of sounding affectionate, they held a creepy, sinister tone.
“He told me that over and over during our marriage,” Mia whispered.
And it was the last thing he’d said to her right before he’d beaten her and killed their child.
HE WATCHED THE TEXAS RANGER STANDING BESIDE MIA ON THE porch, a surge of rage heating his blood. That was the same damn lawman who’d been with her in court.
The same one who’d fastened handcuffs around him and hauled him to jail like he was some two-bit nobody.
And now here he was with Mia. Doing what?
The fucker had probably come to tell her that her loving husband was out of prison.
Or had the asshole been seeing her the entire time he’d been in jail? The Ranger had acted possessive of her during the trial. Possessive and protective and a little too …cozy, always standing beside her, touching her back, keeping her away from him.
Hell, Sgt. Townsend had probably crawled into her bed the minute they’d closed the cell door on Geoff.
Mia backed away from the flowers as the Ranger carried them to the side of the cabin and tossed them into the trash.
What the fuck right did that Ranger have to throw away the flowers he had sent Mia? What right did he have to touch his wife?
If Mia thought that piece of paper negated their vows, she was wrong. She was his wife. Always had been.
Always would be.
And no one would take her away from him again.
CHAPTER FIVE
MIA TRIED TO SUPPRESS A SHUDDER AT THE SIGHT OF THE LILIES and card but failed. By themselves, the items didn’t look daunting. Or dangerous.
But Geoff’s love had come with strings.
And those flowers and the card meant that he’d found her.
“Son of a bitch,” Alex said. “He’s ballsy. He wants us to know he’s been here.”
Mia nodded, too breathless with fear to say anything else. How had he found her so quickly? Had someone been watching her all these months? Someone Geoff had hired?
Had her sense of freedom and safety simply been a figment of her imagination?
Alex took her arm. “Sit down on the swing, Mia. You look pale.”
She did feel faint. Damn Geoff. She hated feeling powerless. Afraid.
She thought all that was in the past.
“Mia?” Alex said as he guided her to the swing. “I promise you I won’t let him hurt you.”
She raised her gaze to his, numb. “You don’t know Geoff like I do. When he wants something, he’ll do anything to get it.”
“He’s a bully.” Alex stroked her arms. “But I’ll stop him. I swear it.”
Regardless of all the strides she’d made in her recovery, unwanted tears pooled in her eyes. Geoff would kill anyone who got in his way.
What if he hurt Alex?
Alex exhaled, a battle warring in his eyes as if he wanted to comfort her but knew he shouldn’t. But he pulled her up against him anyway and wrapped his arms around her. At first, her body went rigid.
She couldn’t lean on him now.
Once Geoff was caught, he’d leave, and she’d be on her own again.
She couldn’t afford to lose her heart to another man.
The last time she had, it had ended in disaster and pain.
But Alex murmured nonsensical words of comfort, and in spite of her fierce effort at self-control, her body betrayed her by trembling.
“He’s not going to hurt you this time, Mia,” Alex whispered against her ear. “I swear, I’ll kill him before I let him touch you.”
Unable to resist, she gave into his tender caress and closed her eyes. Alex felt so warm and gentle, big and strong, yet his fingers stroked her back in a soothing gesture that made her slowly begin to relax. His heart was beating steadily, his chest rising in slow breaths, the scent of raw man and his aftershave wafting around her.
Geoff was gentle at first. Before you discovered the monster beneath the surface.
She hated the fear that shot through her at the memory. At the knowledge that even though she wanted to trust Alex, that she didn’t trust herself, her own judgment.
She’d been so wrong before.
The image of the ultrasound that she kept hidden in her dresser drawer taunted her. God, she hated Geoff.
But she’d wanted that baby.
And he’d taken it away from her just as he’d stolen her pride…
So she slowly pulled away. “I’m sorry, Sgt. Townsend.”
He traced a finger along her jaw. “Alex,” he corrected her.
She looked into his eyes. His mouth was only a fraction of an inch from hers. His lips curved, promising to soothe her pain.
But she couldn’t accept his comfort, so she didn’t respond. Saying his name while she could still feel his warm body and hear his promises would be dangerous to her heart.
And
she had to protect her heart because falling for Alex would be way too easy.
And a big mistake. She had enough regrets to last a lifetime.
She didn’t need another.
WHAT THE HELL WAS HE DOING?
Fear and regret flashed in Mia’s eyes, and Alex wished he hadn’t touched her. But he couldn’t stop himself.
Something about the woman drew him to her, made him want to fight her battles.
She was so lovely, and in spite of how she viewed herself, she was strong. That gutsy side of her made him admire her even more.
“I’m sorry, Mia. I — ”
“Do you think he’s been inside?” she asked, cutting off his apology.
Dammit. He should have been thinking about that possibility instead of hauling her up against him. But Mia made his head swirl with emotions that played havoc with his common sense.
And his ability to focus.
He had to focus to keep her safe.
He instantly removed his weapon, motioned for her to remain in the swing then jiggled the doorknob. It was locked. Mia fished out her keys and handed them to him.
“Is there a back door?”
She nodded. “Off the kitchen.”
Of course he could have broken in through a bedroom window. Alex slipped down the porch steps and walked around the side of the house. He checked the windows, but they didn’t look disturbed, then he eased around the back, his gaze scanning the property in case Geoff was waiting to ambush him. The back door was closed, so he tried the knob. Locked. The lock didn’t appear to have been picked either.
But he had to be careful. He had no idea what kind of skills Jones had picked up in prison.
Gun at the ready, he inched to the other side of the cabin, noting two windows. Both closed, glass intact.
It didn’t mean Jones hadn’t gotten inside though.
He hurried back to the front porch, relief filling him when he found Mia sitting in the same spot. Her eyes were wide, glued to the hill in the distance as if she might have seen something.
“Mia?”
She jerked her gaze to his. “Did you see anything?”