“So, shall I hop in the back with Max?” she asked with a broad grin.
When both Rangers practically gasped, Paige giggled. “I know, I know. It’s not chivalrous to put the woman in the back of the truck while the menfolk ride up front. I was just offering so I could keep Max out of trouble.”
“I thought he was used to riding in a truck,” Cade replied.
“He is. In the cab next to me like he did this morning.” She was still laughing. “Sorry. I guess I’m more keyed-up than I thought. I giggle when I’m tense. Or tired. Or hungry. Or whatever.”
Cade grinned at her as he opened and held the passenger door to Daniel’s truck. “That’s good to know. I’d hate to think you were about to lose it. Go ahead. Climb in.”
As soon as Paige started to step up into the pickup, however, the shaggy dog pushed past and jumped in ahead of her. She glanced at Cade. “You might want to keep him on a shorter lead. He doesn’t have his driver’s license yet. I’ve been giving him lessons but he’s a slow learner.”
Cade reeled in the misbehaving dog, commenting aside to his fellow Ranger. “If she’s teaching him, he’ll never pass the test. I know. I followed her to work this morning so I know how crazy she drives.”
Feigning disapproval, Paige took a playful swipe at Cade and landed a mock punch on his shoulder, immediately ruing her imprudence. His muscles were rock-solid. And he was starting to look at her as if she’d just hugged him instead of hitting him. At least that was the way she interpreted his expression.
“I think we should take two vehicles the way we did this morning,” she said quickly. “That will give you guys a chance to talk business in private.” Her eyebrows arched. “I don’t want to accidentally overhear too much and get into more trouble than I’m already in.”
When Cade rolled his eyes and said, “That’ll be the day,” she couldn’t help laughing in spite of her ongoing uneasiness. Whatever results this case eventually brought, she knew she’d never regret getting to know Cade Jarvis.
As a matter of fact, she decided, turning and starting toward her own truck over the Rangers’ objections, there was no way she’d be able to forget working with him. Not if she lived to be a hundred.
Daniel led the procession while Paige followed in her truck, giving Cade an opportunity to relax.
“You seem to be taking this whole situation with that woman a lot more seriously than I’d expected,” Daniel said after Cade sighed audibly. “Why?”
“It’s a long story.”
“We’ve got fifteen minutes, at least. If you’re going to talk, you’d better do it before your artist gets within earshot again.”
“She’s not my artist. She’s our artist.”
“Not judging by the way you two were carrying on. I’d heard tales that Paige Bryant was so serious she never cracked a smile, let alone laughed. And there you were, trading jokes and kidding around like old friends.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Cade insisted, pausing to check the side mirror and make sure she was still in place behind them. “We hardly know each other.”
“That doesn’t change a thing. So, tell me what’s been going on here? I saw the lab boys swarming all over. What I don’t get is how this all ties in with Captain Pike.” He frowned as he glanced at Cade. “Care to enlighten me?”
By the time Cade had related the details of his recent experiences, including those involving Paige, Daniel was scowling and glancing at her truck in his rearview mirror. “Does she have any idea how much trouble she may be in?”
“I doubt it. She tends to be so focused on her work she isn’t really aware of much else.”
“Okay,” Daniel said, nodding. “What’s plan A?”
“Long gone. I’m up to at least plan D, if not further. Every time I think I’ve got the situation under control, something else happens. So far, they’ve run me off the road, scared her half to death—twice—and trashed her studio. That doesn’t leave much else.”
“Except serious injury to her person. How badly was she hurt last night?”
“Bad enough to leave a bruise the size of some guy’s meaty fist, and more. I can tell her shoulder hurts, too, judging by the way she favors it, but she’s not about to admit it or see a doctor. That’s why I’ve arranged to have her move into Austin, at least until this case is settled.”
“Then what?” Daniel asked.
“Beats me. Once she models the face and we can put a name to the vic, she should be in the clear.”
“Okay. If you say so. I sure don’t like the idea of a connection to the Lions. They’re too powerful for a regular citizen to mess with. Look what happened to the captain.”
“Paige isn’t just a citizen and neither was Greg,” Cade argued. “They’re a part of the Texas Rangers. We can’t do anything for Greg except find his murderer, but I don’t intend to let anything happen to Paige.”
“I hope you can keep that promise.”
“Yeah. Me, too.” Cade nodded slowly, pensively, as he glanced in the side mirror of Daniel’s truck to make sure she was still following.
For an instant, when he didn’t see her because she’d dropped behind another car, his heart nearly stopped. He swiveled to look directly. There she was. Praise the Lord!
“Calm down, man,” the other Ranger said. “I’ve been keeping an eye on her. She’s fine.”
As Cade watched, her old, blue truck seemed to swerve slightly. It began to slow and drop back. “Hold it. Something’s wrong.”
“What?”
“I don’t know,” Cade shouted. “Pull over before we get too far ahead of her.”
Due to heavy afternoon traffic, it was nearly impossible to find room to pass across all four lanes in a hurry. Cade continued to watch as they drew farther and farther away from Paige.
He could see that she’d made it safely to the shoulder. The question was, why had she stopped?
“Stupid tire,” she grumbled, listening to the slapping of the rubber against the roadway. “What a time to pick to go flat.”
The dog beside her started to pant and wiggle.
“No, Max. We’re not going to get out and play.” She held up her hand, flattened palm toward him, and said, “Sit. Stay.”
Waiting for a clear space in the slowest lane, she quickly slid out of the truck and slammed the door behind her. One look told her the tire was flat all right. It looked as if part of the tread had come loose, the way the ones on big rigs sometimes did.
Paige frowned. Her father had been handy around cars but he’d had no time or inclination to pass his expertise on to his only remaining child.
She circled the rear of the truck and stood back, waiting for assistance. Texas was one of the friendliest places in the country. It wouldn’t be long before she had the help she needed to change the flat.
“Providing the Rangers don’t come back first,” she muttered, hoping that would be the case. After all, this whole trip had been their idea. Therefore, she rationalized, it wasn’t a big stretch of the imagination to blame her tire problem on them—even though it had been her decision to drive separately.
Despite the gathering gray cloud cover there was a bright glare. Shading her eyes, Paige peered at the traffic ahead. She could no longer see the white truck containing Cade and his buddy but she was certain they’d circle back as soon as they realized she’d had to stop.
Only then did it occur to her that the delay might make them late for their appointment with Governor Kingston. Terrific. Not only was she underdressed and with a dog, she was probably going to be the reason the Rangers didn’t arrive promptly.
Looking in the opposite direction, Paige saw a black SUV stopped along the shoulder about fifty feet back. That vehicle may have also come into contact with whatever road hazard had flattened her tire, she reasoned. Just because she hadn’t noticed anything lying on the highway didn’t mean there hadn’t been nails or glass or something like that. If so, it was probably amazing that there
weren’t more disabled cars pulling over to await repairs.
The SUV began to inch closer. Puzzled, Paige watched its approach. It didn’t seem to be listing to one side the way her poor truck was. Maybe that driver had simply seen her tire blow and had had enough time to stop. That was okay, providing she got suitable help.
She made a cynical face. The way my life has been going, the driver is probably a little old lady who can hardly pull herself into the driver’s seat, let alone hop out and jack up my truck to change the tire.
Enjoying the silly thought, she smiled and waved. The black vehicle stopped before it reached her. Should she walk back to explain? No. Surely her Rangers would return soon.
In the back of Paige’s mind a suspicion began to grow. The roots of her hair tingled. There was something odd about the SUV, and its windows were tinted so dark she couldn’t see in to allay any misgivings.
Her gaze darted to the lines of cars whizzing past. If a reckless driver came along and hit her parked truck, it could be shoved into the lanes of moving traffic and cause a terrible wreck. She’d watched enough TV news programs to know that getting passengers away from a disabled vehicle, if possible, was the smartest choice.
Turning, Paige jogged back to her pickup, approaching it on the passenger side. She was starting to open the door so she and her dog could wait farther up the landscaped, right-of-way incline when she heard the engine of the SUV rev. Its tires spun. Squealed.
Paige screamed, “Max! Come!” and leaped away with the end of his leash in her hand.
The dog reacted swiftly, not only running ahead but dragging her a few extra feet up the steep slope, as well.
She stumbled and landed on her hands and knees, crunching the dried stems and leaves of Texas bluebells and other wildflowers long past their prime. She rolled over. Her jaw dropped. Her eyes widened.
At the last second before a certain collision, the SUV had swerved into traffic instead of ramming her truck and slipped seamlessly into the flow of passing cars. Her heart was hammering so hard it almost drowned out the roar of the highway.
“Where’s a cop when you need one?” she whispered, needing to hear the sound of her own voice to assure herself she was not merely stuck in another bad dream.
Should she try to get to her feet? Try to run farther away just to make sure they’d be safe? Maybe even go back to the truck to get her purse and cell phone?
No, she decided, doubting her legs would support her well if she tried. She and Max would sit right there and wait for those exasperating Rangers who had dragged her out here in the first place.
Her lower lip trembled. She bit it and fought down the urge to give in to panic. It had been many years since she’d felt this alone, this vulnerable.
Rangers like Cade tended to be so self-assured they were bossy, but she still couldn’t think of a single other person she’d rather see approaching at that moment.
Where on earth was he?
EIGHT
Cade spotted the dusty blue truck in the distance long before he saw Paige. “There,” he practically yelled, pointing out the window. “That has to be it.”
“I know. Calm down. I’m sure she’s fine.”
“Well, I’m not sure. You wouldn’t be so complacent if you’d been with her these past twenty-four hours.” He set his jaw. “Where is she? I don’t see anybody by the truck.”
Daniel gestured. “Way up there on the bank. See? That’s her.” He started to slow and ease over onto the highway shoulder.
Cade hit the ground running before his companion had brought the truck to a full stop. He saw Paige try to stand, waver and plop back down.
Paige smiled as Cade approached, acting as though everything was fine. He wasn’t fooled.
He held out his hand and she grasped it without a moment’s hesitation. The instant he pulled her to her feet she was in his arms, clinging to him as if she were adrift in a storm at sea and he was her life preserver.
“We had to take the next off-ramp and circle back,” he said, speaking with his cheek pressed against her hair. “What happened? Why did you stop?”
She eased away enough to look into his eyes and he saw fear in her gaze. “Didn’t you see my truck? I had a blowout.”
He’d been so focused on Paige that he hadn’t bothered to take note of anything else. That was a clear indication that his priorities were becoming skewed and he didn’t like admitting it, even to himself. Too bad it was so unmistakably true.
“If that’s all that’s wrong, then why are you shaking like a leaf? Are you cold?”
“No. There was another car. An SUV, I think. I thought the driver had stopped to help me but then he drove right at my truck, really fast, like he was going to ram it.”
“Where were you when that happened?”
“Down there.” She sniffled and pointed. “I’d gone back to get Max. We barely jumped clear in time. I was sure my truck was a goner. It’s a good thing I wasn’t still in it, even if they did miss.”
Cade had an idea that her proximity to the truck had had little to do with the alleged attack—other than to thwart it. That conclusion chilled him to the bone. Chances were, if the driver of the SUV had been after Paige, as he assumed, it wouldn’t have mattered where she was standing as long as she’d presented a clear target.
“Good thing you got out of the way,” Cade said, pulling her against him for another brief hug before forcing himself to let go. “Otherwise, we might not be having this conversation. Come on. Let’s go.”
She’d swayed enough while he was speaking that Cade kept his hand on her arm as they started to descend the sloping right-of-way and return to join Daniel. He didn’t intend to pause at her truck as they passed but she insisted.
“Wait. I need my purse. And I threw my overnight bag back in here, too. It’ll only take a second.”
“Okay. Hurry it up.” Keeping one wary eye on the traffic, Cade stepped just far enough away from her to check her wheels. What he saw gave him chills. The left rear tire was flat, all right. And there was a crease in the metal rim that looked a lot like the damage a glancing bullet might cause.
He was hunkered down, using his pocket knife to probe for the projectile, when Paige peeked around the rear bumper at him. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing.” Cade straightened, folded the knife and slipped it back into his pocket. “I’d hoped there’d be a clue in there but I didn’t find anything.”
“A clue? What kind of a clue?”
Instead of answering, he countered with another question. “Did you see or hear anything unusual just before you felt the flat?”
“Like what?”
“Like a loud bang or whistle. Anything that might explain why it looks like that wheel was shot.”
“Shot? Are you serious?”
Cade nodded soberly. “Very. There’s been another attack on you.”
“That’s ridiculous. How would anyone know I’m not at work? That’s where I always am at this time of day.”
“How? The same way they seem to have known everything else,” Cade said, reaching for her suitcase to relieve her of that burden. “Can you describe the car you say almost hit you?”
As they started to walk toward Daniel’s idling truck, he put the suitcase in his outside hand and slipped an arm around her shoulders, staying on the traffic side for her defense.
“I don’t know. It all happened so fast. It was an SUV. It was big. And black, and…
Cade tightened his grip and stopped in his tracks. “What did you say?”
“It was a black SUV. I’d already told you that.”
“No, you didn’t. You never mentioned a color.” He stared at her. “Think. Did you see any scrapes on the side of it when it went by?”
“I don’t know.”
Gazing into her wide-eyed expression he recognized the moment when she put two and two together. Her jaw gaped. “What…? What was the color of the one that forced you off the road?”
&nbs
p; “Black,” Cade said, “and judging by the damage to my truck, there has to be plenty showing on that other vehicle, too.”
Paige closed her eyes for a few seconds, then opened them. “I was running away at the time so I didn’t see it clearly when it passed by. I do think it had a bent frame around one headlight, though. The one closest to the shoulder of the highway.”
Picking up the pace again he hustled her toward Daniel’s waiting truck. “I never should have let you drive alone, no matter how much you insisted. Believe me, it won’t happen again.”
“Hey, don’t go overboard. There’s no real proof that this flat wasn’t an accident. At least not yet.”
“I don’t have to see proof of an attack to recognize one. We’ll call the State Troopers and have them impound your vehicle so it can be checked.”
“Okay, but…”
“No buts. If you won’t think of yourself, consider your value to the Rangers. We need your expertise.”
“I’m not the only forensic artist in Texas.”
“True. But you’re very skilled and you also have the latest equipment at your fingertips. Or you did, until this morning. Besides, if we had to farm out this job it might take a lot longer.”
“Then maybe it’s not all about me. Maybe it’s more time they’re really after.”
The logic behind her conclusion struck him as absolutely brilliant. “It may be! You’re a genius. We need to look for some kind of time constraint.”
“Such as?”
“I don’t know. Maybe a big drug shipment or something like that.” Cade shrugged. He wasn’t certain of anything, but when Paige had mentioned timing, it had also occurred to him that there was one truly important event pending. The 175th anniversary celebration at the Alamo was coming in March.
Which conveniently happened to tie into Daniel’s current reason for visiting the governor. The planning board had already been warned repeatedly that someone was going to interrupt those festivities, probably with violence, and now there had been another threat. The question was, how serious were they?
Face of Danger Page 7