The Rancher's Return

by Karen Whiddon

  “I like to know who I’m dealing with.”

  The waitress brought their coffees. Alex took a drink of his, blotting the corner of his mouth with a paper napkin. “Let’s cut to the chase. You know, of course, about the reward.”

  Reed nodded. “It’s not enough.”

  To his surprise, Alex laughed. “Of course it’s not. So tell me. Why do you think you can help me find Kaitlyn? Has she contacted you in any way?” His voice was casual. Too casual.

  “No, of course not.” Reed took a deep breath, meeting Alex’s gaze directly. “But then, how could she, since she’s been abducted?”

  Alex’s smile never wavered. Reed found himself wanting to wipe the smug look off the politician’s face.

  “Maybe the kidnappers let her make a phone call,” Alex came back smoothly.

  He was good, Reed would give him that. But this might just be Reed’s chance to prove he was better.

  Alex leaned back in his seat, elegant fingers curled around his coffee cup. A largish diamond ring winked from his pinky. “I agreed to meet you because you told me you had a good reason to believe you could find my Kaitlyn. Now let’s hear it. You’d better not be wasting my time.”

  Taking another deliberately slow drink, Reed knew he’d have to be careful with what he planned to say next. The right delivery would be absolutely crucial. “Because I don’t believe Kaitlyn was abducted. I think she ran off with someone.”

  The other man’s entire expression hardened before he smoothed it back out. Still, rage flashed in the back of his eyes. “Explain.” Cold death frosted together in his voice.

  “I know Kaitlyn well. Very well.” He swallowed, praying the lie slipped easily from his tongue. “After all, back when she was dating my brother, she and I were lovers behind his back. She always likes to have a guy on the side.”

  Alex stared at him, his patrician features a mask of ice. “She never mentioned anything like that to me.”

  Reed didn’t reply, giving it a minute until the other man realized the implications of his words.

  Cursing, Alex looked away. A muscle worked in his cheek. Reed waited while his enemy got a grip on his apparently powerful emotions.

  After a moment, Alex pick up his coffee and took a long drink, as if the cup contained whiskey. When he finished, he set it down carefully and then met Reed’s gaze. “What do you get out of this?”

  Since Reed knew Alex would expect Reed to have a similar nature, Reed let a slow smile cross his face. “Payment, of course,” he said. “More than that stupid reward. If I get Kaitlyn back for you, it’s going to cost you.”

  Alex didn’t even blink. “How much? Name your price.”

  Now for the game changer. It would either work or it wouldn’t. If not, Reed knew he’d have to go back to plan B.

  “I don’t just want money.” He spoke slowly and deliberately.

  Narrowing his eyes, Alex stared him down. “Then what do you want?”

  “Power and a steady revenue stream,” Reed told him. “Before he died, my brother told me all about your operation. I want to be cut in on the action.”

  To give him credit, Alex didn’t seem surprised. Nor did he waste time asking what Reed meant or deny anything. He simply nodded. “You’d have to be careful. With your criminal record, one misstep would land you right back in prison.”

  Reed flashed an icy smile. “Then I’ll have to make sure I don’t make a mistake, won’t I?”

  “Done.” Apparently making an instant decision, Alex held out his hand. “You help me find Kaitlyn—and when I take care of her lover, I’m going to make it look like he kidnapped her—I’ll get you set up in charge of your own area.”

  Deliberately vague. Reed decided not to press for specifics, especially since he knew there was no way in hell Alex planned to give him a single damn thing other than a bullet in the head when all this had finished. Reed would have become too big of a liability, especially to someone who was looking to broaden his political career.

  Reed would have to be very, very cautious from this point on.

  “Agreed.” They shook hands.

  “First thing I need to do is take a look at where she was living,” Reed said, pitching his low voice with just the right amount of urgency.

  The other man didn’t even blink. “When?”

  Bingo. Keeping his expression neutral, Reed shrugged. “I don’t know. As soon as possible.”

  “How about now?”

  * * *

  Full of nervous worry, Kaitlyn didn’t know what to do with herself. She’d played with Bentley, fed him and taken him outside. Twice. She’d rummaged in the tiny kitchen, put together enough ingredients to make a small pot of beef stew, which now simmered on the stovetop, filling the cabin with a delicious aroma.

  She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to eat it. Knowing Reed was meeting with Alex at this very moment made her feel queasy. In fact, she was pretty sure if she tried to force something down, her stomach would rebel and throw it right back up.

  Once again, she felt as if she would suffocate, even though she tried to convince herself that being confined didn’t equal being trapped. But that was what she felt like. A sitting duck. Even though she knew this place was safe.

  She prayed Reed’s plan worked. If he could get Alex to trust him enough to maybe video or tape a confession, they’d be on their way to winning.

  Unfortunately, Alex didn’t get to his position by being stupid or careless. Or nice. She knew it wouldn’t be that easy.

  Attempting to tame her agitation, she turned the tiny old television on. A talk show had just started, and she picked up Bentley and settled on the couch to try and watch.

  At least this time, Alex Ramirez wasn’t a guest. Petting her small dog, she sat up straight as they announced the topic of that day. Men—and women—who’d been falsely imprisoned and how this had affected them long after they’d been released.

  Since this might help give her some insight into Reed’s emotions, she paid close attention.

  “Oddly enough,” one of the women said. “I felt incredibly guilty, as if the entire thing was somehow my fault.”

  Kaitlyn shook her head. While she could identify and relate to what the woman felt, she doubted Reed felt the same way.

  Next, the camera panned on one of the men. A tall, lanky man, he radiated calm confidence. When the talk show host asked him if he’d felt guilt, he said no. “I was angry. Furious, actually. Not only had the system dropped the ball big-time, but it felt like the entire world—my country, my family and my friends—had failed me. I refused to see anyone, talk to anyone. After the anger burned itself out, I wanted to be left alone.” He swallowed, then lifted his chin and looked directly at the camera. “I wanted to die.”

  The host smiled sympathetically. “I understand,” she said.

  “No.” He turned and glanced dismissively at her. “You don’t. I had no criminal record, in fact, I’d never broken a law in my life. And then, due to sloppy law enforcement and a bad lawyer, I ended up behind bars, locked in with a bunch of hardened criminals. Talk about a wake-up call. I lost faith in everyone and everything. I’ve been out five years and honestly, I still don’t trust anyone.”

  Leaning forward, the host kept an insincere smile plastered on her bright red lips. “How long were you in prison?” As if she didn’t know.

  “Too long.” With a rueful grimace, the man uncoiled himself from the couch. Standing, he towered over the seated host and the other guests.

  Kaitlyn held her breath. To their credit, none of the guests seemed alarmed, though he must have seemed menacing. Oh, wait, she spotted the tiniest tick in the corner of one of the polished host’s heavily mascaraed eye.

  The man removed the microphone clipped to the lapel of his shirt. Then, he held it in front of him. “I’m sorry. This was a mistake. I never should have agreed to do this.” Then he handed the microphone to the host and strode off the set.

  The show instantly went to com
mercial. Stunned, Kaitlyn reached for the remote and clicked the television off. She’d seen enough.

  The man reminded her a lot of Reed. And now she understood a lot better the reason for his reluctance to trust.

  She couldn’t blame him. Especially since she herself felt much the same way.

  * * *

  Though Reed had known Alex Ramirez had money, he could not help being impressed at his first glimpse of the man’s massive home. No, home was too small of a word. Mansion would be a better description.

  First there had been huge, wrought-iron gates with a scrolled letter R on each of them. Alex opened those with a remote control and, once they were inside, closed them the same way.

  Alex had insisted Reed ride there with him. For security reasons, he’d said. Though Reed didn’t like the idea—he wouldn’t have an escape route—he had no choice but to go along.

  Stopping the car for effect, Alex turned in his seat and eyed Reed. “Not only did I design it, but I had it built. I even had stone flown over from Italy, wood from Greece and various other materials from France.”

  Reed nodded, hoping he appeared suitably impressed. At first glance, the huge edifice resembled an ancient church. But the longer he looked at it, the place appeared to be something out of a horror movie set in Transylvania.

  With an effort, he kept himself from laughing out loud at the thought.

  “Very impressive,” he said, since Alex appeared to be waiting for a response before putting the car back in Drive.

  “It is, isn’t it?” Sounding smug, Alex seemed satisfied. He drove up the long, winding drive slowly, as though he wanted to make sure Reed got the full impact of the perfectly manicured hedges and colorful flower gardens framing the massive, stone monstrosity of a house. There were statues and fountains interspersed with the plants. Oddly enough, it looked more like a presidential estate in a developing country than a wealthy politician’s home. But then again, Reed supposed he had no idea what other politicians’ homes looked like.

  The instant Alex’s Jaguar coasted up to the house, the front door opened and two men in uniforms rushed outside and down the marble steps. Exactly as if they were the doorman and bellhop at a luxury hotel.

  One hurried around to open Alex’s door, the other Reed’s. Alex barely even acknowledged them. Instead, he bounded up the sweeping staircase and paused to wait for Reed, while indicating the double mahogany front doors with a dramatic flourish. “Mi casa,” he said, grinning proudly.

  From that, Reed deduced Alex had not come from a moneyed background. If he had, he would have been blasé, acting as if all this grandeur was perfectly normal.

  Instead, he was like a child eager to show off a new bicycle, except on a much larger scale. Reed wondered if Alex considered himself a self-made millionaire. He supposed he could, since drugs and money laundering, extortion and murder had all had a hand in obtaining his wealth.

  When he thought of all this, the sight of the place made Reed feel queasy. Lifting his head, he tried his best to appear awestruck.

  As they approached the heavy twin doors, they swung open as smoothly as if they were kept oiled. Two more uniformed servants stood at attention. Ahead of them, another staircase curved up on both sides of an open foyer. Reed half expected an entire crowd of domestic help to come swarming down them, welcoming their employer home.

  Of course that didn’t happen. Reed didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed.

  Alex glanced at his Rolex watch. “I can have someone show you around, if you’d like.”

  “Sure.” Reed shrugged. “That’d be great.”

  Narrowing his eyes, Alex signaled to one of the male servants. “Geraldo here will give you a tour. If you need anything, I’ll be in my office.”

  And Reed was dismissed.

  He turned to Geraldo, who stood at attention as though waiting for Reed to give him an order. Reed smiled, hoping to put the other man at ease. “I’d like to see Kaitlyn’s room,” he said, only to be met with a blank stare.

  Then, while Reed watched, the other man took out a cell phone and made a quick call.

  Chapter 10

  Since Reed didn’t speak Spanish, he couldn’t follow the conversation. At least he recognized Kaitlyn’s name, which meant the other man had to ask for permission to show Reed her room. Strange. Unless, for some reason, Alex had ordered that no one help Reed. This made no sense, but then in the man’s bizarre world of delusions and lies, Reed wouldn’t be surprised.

  While Kaitlyn had told him exactly how to find her room, he couldn’t just go upstairs, turn left and find the third room down the hall on the right. Especially since he had no doubt he was being watched like a hawk.

  He’d just have to be careful not to do anything to attract interest. He had to get Alex to trust him. He imagined this would take a while, unless he could pull off something spectacular.

  Geraldo ended his call.

  “Well?” Reed asked. “Can you show me where Kaitlyn stayed?”

  Glancing quickly over his shoulder as if to see if someone was watching him, Geraldo quickly nodded. “Sí.”

  After a second, narrow-eyed look, Geraldo complied, hurrying toward the staircase. Reed followed, noting the expensive-looking paintings hanging on the wall all the way up.

  Once they reached the landing at the top, Geraldo turned right rather than left. Since he couldn’t correct him, Reed had no choice but to follow along. This made no sense. If Alex wanted Reed to help find Kaitlyn, what was the purpose of keeping him from seeing her room?

  Of course, if Alex was as warped as Kaitlyn claimed, he might enjoy watching Reed twist and turn for a while.

  Paranoid? Maybe. Either way, Reed knew he’d have to be careful and watch his back at all times.

  Geraldo led him to what appeared to be a guest bedroom. Utterly devoid of personality, there was nothing personal anywhere. No knickknacks or pictures, nothing to indicate anyone had spent time in the room.

  Reed crossed to the closet and opened the double doors. Empty, as he’d expected.

  “No.” Turning and facing Geraldo, Reed shook his head. “This is not Kaitlyn’s room.”

  Unsurprisingly, the other man appeared nervous. A fine bead of sweat glossed his upper lip. “No understand,” he said.

  “Fine.” Reed decided to quit wasting his time. “Go away. I’ll find her room myself.”

  A minute later, as if he had cameras on them (which he probably did), Alex appeared in the doorway. He glided into the room, his manicured eyebrows raised. “Is there a problem?”

  Reed glared at him. “If you don’t want my help, why not just say so?”

  To give him credit, Alex didn’t bother pretending not to know what Reed meant. Instead, he glanced at his employee and jerked his thumb toward the doorway. “Geraldo, you can go.”

  Head down, Geraldo hurried out.

  Reed waited until the other man had left before speaking again. “What’s up with this? I simply asked to see Kaitlyn’s room. Instead, your employee takes me here.”

  Alex watched him closely. “How do you know this isn’t her room?”

  “This isn’t anyone’s room.” Reed let his disgust show. “Clearly, it’s a guest room or something. There’s not one single touch of a woman’s personality in here.”

  “Touché.” Inclining his head, Alex gestured. “Follow me.”

  They went back toward the main staircase, crossing to the correct side of the building. Alex paused before the third room on the right and, digging a key from his pants pocket, unlocked the door.

  Interesting. Reed didn’t comment on why the other man felt the need to keep her room locked up tight. Instead, he waited patiently as Alex opened the door and stood aside for Reed to enter.

  “Aren’t you coming?”

  Alex shook his head. “No. I find being in there among her things too painful. I’ll leave you to look around. Once you’ve finished, just say my name and I’ll come back and lock up.”

&
nbsp; “Say your name?” Reed frowned. Then he saw the camera high up in the corner of the room. “Surveillance?”

  “Exactly.” Sounding satisfied, Alex left, closing the door behind him.

  Slightly unnerved—but really, had he expected anything less—Reed slowly surveyed the space. There were bright spots of vivid color, interspersed with a lot of white. He guessed Kaitlyn had brought the color, while Alex or his interior designer, had wanted white.

  The closet contained a full wardrobe of women’s clothes. As far as he could tell, the outfits ranged from sexy to nearly naked, with nothing in between. Rows of shoes, mostly stiletto heels that appeared to be at least four to five inches tall, lined the bottom of the closet. No wonder she hadn’t taken anything from here.

  He moved to the dresser, opening the top drawer, half expecting to find a bunch of lacy panties or some other such thing. Instead, the drawer, along with most of the others, was empty. Only the long drawer at the bottom, filled with lacy negligees, remained full.

  He got it. She’d left everything that made her feel like Alex’s toy. He couldn’t blame her. He also couldn’t help picturing her wearing some of the frilly wisps of nothing.

  No. Focus. He had to make Alex think he was trying to help recapture Kaitlyn.

  A large, freestanding jewelry box occupied a place of honor against the wall between the bed and the bathroom. Opening one side, he discovered several sparkling necklaces, with matching bracelets and earrings in the top portion and drawers. Stunned, he stared. Apparently Alex had spent a small fortune in diamonds. Kaitlyn had taken none of them, even though Reed knew she could have used the money.

  Bile rose in his throat. He swallowed it back, refusing to look at the camera, well aware Alex no doubt watched to make sure Reed didn’t pocket any of the valuables.

  “I’m just looking for clues,” he said out loud, looking directly at the camera.

  Crossing to the nightstand, he pulled open the drawer and gave the insides a cursory look. Socks, exactly as Kaitlyn had said. He didn’t touch anything, just closed the drawer and opened the one below it. More socks.