Jason quickly related the half of the conversation Lauren hadn’t heard.
“The meeting location is a public place,” Lauren said. “That’s a good sign. We just need to pay attention when we get there. Be on the lookout for anyone watching us. If this is a trap set up by the thugs who’ve come after us before, our arrival would be the most logical time for them to take another shot at us.”
He called Matt’s number. Of course the call went straight to voice mail, and he left a message repeating the details of the meeting. If this was all a lie, if Matt still had his phone, Jason could only hope his brother would care enough to call him and warn him as soon as he listened to the message.
They arrived at the bar without incident and exactly on time. The place was packed, but Katie spotted them and ushered them toward a small table in a corner, where she removed a sign that said Reserved and asked if either of them wanted a drink. Neither of them did.
Jason looked for his brother, but the bar was dark and there were lots of people milling around, so he couldn’t see much. The music was loud, making it difficult to have a conversation. But he could see that Lauren was doing her best to scan the crowd, too.
His brother had made a big deal about the precise timing of the meeting, and yet he was late. Ten minutes passed. Then twenty.
“I’m going to take a walk around the bar and look for him,” Jason said to Lauren, having to shout into her ear to be heard. He walked around until he came across Katie. “Have you seen Matt?” he asked.
“A couple of guys just came in asking about him,” she said, glancing around nervously. “I don’t know if it’s just coincidence, or if maybe they saw you come in and thought you were Matt. I told them I didn’t know who they were talking about. I don’t know if they’re still here or not. And I haven’t seen Matt, so maybe he saw them and they scared him off.”
Jason felt like the floor had dropped out from beneath his feet. He hadn’t realized how much he’d gotten his hopes up about seeing his brother until now. The crushing sense of disappointment almost knocked the wind out of him.
And then he thought of the men looking for his brother. They were probably part of the same group that had tried to kill him before without making sure he was the person they thought he was. He already knew those people were reckless. They likely wouldn’t think twice about firing inside a crowded bar if they thought they needed to.
“There’s an exit into the alley out back,” Katie said. “I don’t know if going out that way is a good idea or not.”
He looked at her and nodded. He needed to take every precaution he could think of to keep innocent bystanders safe. He walked back to the table to collect Lauren and quickly fill her in on what had happened. Then, with Katie leading the way, they headed to the back exit.
Katie opened the back door and stepped outside. Jason and Lauren followed her. The night air felt especially cold after the heat from all of the bodies inside the bar.
It was dark in the alley, with only a little bit of light spilling over from the bare bulb outside the back exit of the next building over. There were trash cans, wooden pallets and boxes stacked out here. It took a minute for Jason to notice the two men who were pointing guns at him.
It was a setup. He quickly moved to get Lauren behind him. He backed up, thinking they could get back into the bar. He heard Lauren reach for the door handle and try to turn it. “It’s locked,” she said.
Jason turned to face Katie.
The bartender shrugged. “My help goes to the highest bidder. You should have put money on the table.”
Jason felt sick. Of course. This was the kind of friend Matt had these days.
“But you know I’m not Matt,” he said, confused, and looking to the men lurking in the alley, who still hadn’t said a word.
“Yeah, they decided grabbing you might be a good way to get to Matt.” Then she glanced at one of the thugs. “Let me get out of here before you do anything.” And she disappeared down the dark alley.
* * *
Lauren had already drawn her pistol without anybody noticing. And while she very much appreciated Jason protecting her and shielding her with his body, she needed him to step aside so she could fire off a clean shot if she had to.
“We don’t need her,” one of the gunmen said to Jason, obviously referring to Lauren. “We just want you. Stay calm, don’t make a scene and we’ll leave her here safe and sound.”
They thought she was going to just stand there while they took Jason? No, she was not.
She reached up to tap him on the shoulder and get him to move aside. To her surprise, he lunged at the closest lurker and tried to wrestle the weapon out of the man’s hand. The thug managed to squeeze off a shot, and the bullet ricocheted off the side of the building.
Meanwhile Lauren pointed her pistol at the second man, who’d moved into the center of the alley. He fired at her. She felt a stinging sensation in her left arm as she dived down toward the side of the building and tried to wedge herself behind a trash can for protection.
A few feet away, she could hear Jason grappling with the other assailant as they crashed into the pallets and trash cans while they traded punches.
Lauren quickly got back onto her feet, staying low, while trying to find the man who’d shot her. She had to make sure he didn’t join his partner and gang up on Jason. She’d taken only a couple of steps when the barrel of a gun was suddenly shoved into the side of her head.
Fear, even deeper and more overwhelming than what she’d already felt, flooded her body.
“Stand up!” the gunman snarled.
Slowly, she straightened her legs. She heard sirens in the distance. Someone must have heard the gunshot and called the cops.
“I don’t leave witnesses behind,” he added.
He was going to kill her.
She had nothing to lose, so she started to raise her own gun and point it at him. And then Jason appeared behind the attacker, quickly wrapping his arm around the man’s neck and knocking the gun out of his hand. The gunman shoved an elbow backward, into Jason’s ribs, and managed to break loose of his grip and turn around at the same time. The two men struggled and fell to the ground, fighting.
She heard someone coming up behind her, breathing heavily, and she whirled around, ready to fire her gun.
It was Jason. He must have won his fight with the other thug.
She stared at him as she still could hear the sounds of the two men fighting behind her. And then the reality of the situation finally sank in. It was Matt who had grabbed the gunman and kept her from getting shot. It was Matt who was fighting with that assailant right now.
“Matt is here!” she said.
The sounds of the men fighting stopped. Matt stood up, and Lauren could see that the man he’d been fighting with was lying unmoving on the ground, apparently unconscious.
“Yeah, I’m here,” Matt said, in a voice that sounded so much like Jason’s. He stepped closer to Lauren and Jason, where there was a little more light. He’d gotten a haircut since that picture was taken at the bail bond office. He was clean-shaven. And he really looked remarkably like Jason.
Lauren could hear the police sirens getting closer as Matt and Jason stood, staring at one another.
“You’re late to your own meeting,” Jason finally said.
“I called you on my way over here. You didn’t answer.”
Jason probably hadn’t heard his phone ring because it was so loud in the bar.
“And I did warn you to get out of Colorado,” Matt added.
This was the point where Lauren would normally get out her cuffs and place her fugitive under arrest. But instead, she watched the two brothers and wished they’d hug or shake hands or something. She already knew that despite everything, Jason still loved his brother. And now, the fact that Matt had showed up to help rescue them proved that he cared, too.
“You were involved in a murder?” Jason asked.
Matt exhaled a hissing breath. “I was there, but I didn’t know they were going to kill the guy.” He shook his head. “I’m a thief. I’m an alcoholic. I’ve done a lot of bad things. But I’m not a murderer. The criminals I used to run with thought they could blackmail me into being a hit man for them. But they were wrong.”
“I thank God for that,” Jason said softly.
“Yeah,” Matt said with a slight laugh. And then, more seriously, he added, “Yeah. Thank God.” He sighed deeply. “So I’d hit rock bottom with the kind of life I was living. And then I ran into an old girlfriend who’d left me years ago when I wouldn’t straighten out my life.”
“Holly,” Jason said.
“Yeah, Holly. And the daughter I didn’t know I had, Chloe.”
Lauren thought back to the child at the house. So the woman they’d talked to had been Holly.
“Holly and Chloe came into my life at just the right time. Actually, I wish I hadn’t been so stupid and I’d started my life with them sooner.” Matt shook his head. “Anyway, when I decided I was done with the criminal activities, my old gang got the idea I was planning to sell them out to the authorities, and they decided they wanted to kill me.
“At the same time, I knew I was going to prison on the accessory-to-murder charges, that I would plead guilty and take any kind of deal that was offered to me. I figured the sooner I started serving my sentence, the sooner I could get out and get back to my family. So, yeah, I skipped my court date. I just wanted a few more days with Holly and Chloe. I never told the people I worked with that I had a twin brother. That’s why they thought you were me. At least they did until you got to Boulder and started telling people that you were my brother. And then I had to start keeping an eye on you to see what you were up to.”
“Were you following us?” Lauren asked.
“I did after you showed up at Holly’s house last night.” He turned his attention back to Jason. “It never crossed my mind that somebody might come after you while trying to kill me. You’ve got to believe me.”
“I do,” Jason said.
“And this is your girlfriend?” Matt asked, indicating Lauren.
“I’m a bounty hunter,” she said.
Matt stared at her in disbelief and then finally shrugged. “Well, it’s time I turned myself in, anyway. I just want to serve my sentence and get back home.”
Lauren couldn’t bring herself to reach for her handcuffs. Yes, she’d earned the right to arrest Matt Cortez and claim her recovery fee, but she just couldn’t do it. Not when she could see the pain written so clearly on Jason’s face as he looked at his brother. The police were here. She’d make sure they arrested him. Despite her concern for Jason’s feelings, she was not about to let a criminal get away.
The police took statements and collected evidence. Matt and the two bad guys were cuffed and taken away. The crime scene was cleared way too quickly as far as Lauren was concerned, because that meant her time with Jason was over.
Because of the shooting behind the bar, and the fact that their bartender, Katie, was now at the police station being questioned, the bar had been cleared of patrons, and the business side of things was shut down early. The manager had allowed the police, Lauren and Jason to come inside and use the interior of the bar as a staging area so they could get out of the cold while witnesses were being questioned and the crime scene was being processed.
A few of the house lights had been turned on, so the interior was no longer so dark and shadowy. A couple of employees restacked clean glasses on the shelves behind the bar. The manager was in a back office, tallying the night’s receipts. Country music still spilled out of the speakers, but not nearly as loudly as before, gentler and more romantic songs playing instead.
The last police officer left, and that was it. The hunt was over.
Lauren found herself looking at Jason. Staring at him, really. Trying to do it without getting caught. Because she wanted to create the strongest possible memory of him. Being the daughter of a man who disappeared with no warning for long stretches of time obviously made an impact on a girl. And the impact remained even when she was a grown woman. You didn’t need a degree in psychology to notice that.
Lauren had dated on occasion, but things never went anywhere, because she’d always kept her emotional distance. She didn’t want to risk being conned. She didn’t trust a man who tried too hard to be charming. That must be how Jason Cortez had slipped under the radar and into her heart. He didn’t try to be charming. He didn’t even flirt with her. Well, maybe a tiny bit now and then. He had mostly just been himself—a man who cared about his brother even though that brother had disappointed him a hundred times over. A man who didn’t vanish when the going got tough.
Did he feel anything for her? Anything real that he might want to pursue?
She didn’t know. And she wasn’t going to ask. Not when the man had finally caught up with his twin brother only to see that brother hauled away in the back of a squad car. He had enough on his mind. And even though she’d only met him four days ago, she already knew him well enough to know he’d speak up if he had something to say.
As they walked through the bar toward the front door, she cleared her throat and commanded herself to speak in a professional, steady tone. “I’m not sure if the car rental office is open this late. But as soon as we turn in the car, I’ll drive you back to Sweetwater.”
He reached for her hand. Pulled her to a stop. She turned to him, and he tugged on her hand, pulling her closer, until she was nearly pressed against him. She looked up at those dark brown eyes looking down at her. Her heart beat so hard in her chest that she began to feel light-headed.
“I’m not really in a hurry to go our separate ways,” he said, his voice low, the expression in his eyes turning soft. “Are you?”
“No,” she answered, as her heart swelled until she was barely able to speak. “I’m not.”
A smile slowly formed on his lips. And then he pulled her even closer until she was finally actually pressed up against him. His strong arms wrapped around her waist and he leaned down, brushing his lips over hers, sending her heart soaring as a shiver of delight ran down her spine.
“I don’t know how things could possibly work between us,” she said uncertainly after the kiss ended and she reluctantly pulled away. “We live in different places. And we lead very different lives.”
He offered her a smile that had a little bit of a teasing challenge added to it. “I don’t know about you, bounty hunter, but when I see what I want I go after it. A few obstacles in the path won’t stop me.”
She smiled back at him. “You know what? I’m the same way.”
EPILOGUE
Eight months later
Bright autumn sunlight glinted off the gold band on Lauren’s ring finger as she packed down the last handful of straw in a flower bed on the Cortez family ranch in Sweetwater. Cold weather was coming. Winter would be rolling in before long, and after that the flower beds would be blanketed with snow. But come next spring, the flowers would be bright and colorful again.
She lifted her left hand and inspected her wedding ring a little more closely. She couldn’t help smiling. Her heart felt light and open in her chest. Like a flower in full bloom.
She’d only been wearing the ring for two weeks, so she hadn’t grown used to it yet. She still noticed it fairly often. Felt its weight on her finger like a reassuring touch. A warm reminder that Jason Cortez had promised to stay by her side and that he’d meant it.
For several months she and Jason had seen each other as often as they could while he worked here fixing up the ranch and she was in and around Denver chasing down fugitives. At first it had seemed like there was no practical way their lives could ever be joined together.
But they were happiest when they were together
. So they followed their hearts. And slowly, things began to change.
Lauren found that she enjoyed spending time at the ranch. Jason built ramps at the ranch house for her mom’s wheelchair, and her mom loved visiting here, too.
Jason realized he liked bounty hunting, and he accompanied Lauren on assignments with Kevin and also with Toby and Tim. So in the end, Jason and Lauren balanced their time between Sweetwater and Denver. It didn’t take long for both of them to realize that they truly were in love, so why wait any longer?
They got married at the end of August. The service was a small, quiet ceremony at Lauren’s home church in Denver. The honeymoon was a week spent in Hawaii.
And now here they were at the ranch in Sweetwater, with family and friends, having a ranch cleanup day and barbecue before settling in Denver for the winter.
Matt was serving his time in prison. He and Holly had managed to get married despite him being locked up. And Holly and their daughter, Chloe, were here today. Jason and Lauren were determined to make them feel part of the family.
Lauren’s mom, Anna, was enjoying time chatting with her old friends Al and Barb while they kept an eye on the barbecue grill as it heated up. The three of them were also getting to know the neighbors who helped take care of Jason’s animals when he was away from the ranch. Carla, the neighbors’ fourteen-year-old daughter, had brought her new puppy, Winslow.
Kevin, Toby, Tim and Jason were just finishing up a last bit of fence repair near the house. Lauren was finally finished winterizing the flower beds.
“Winslow!” Carla’s shout carried across the stretch of lawn to Lauren. “Winslow, come here!”
Lauren turned in time to see some commotion by the tables set up near the barbecue grill. Barb and Al leaped up so quickly their chairs tipped over. Carla took off running around the corner of the ranch house calling for her dog, and she disappeared from view.
“What happened?” Lauren called out, hurrying to the barbecue area. Barb and Al righted their chairs and sat back down, shaking their heads.
Colorado Manhunt Page 17