Kade

by Delores Fossen

  Despite the seriousness of the conversation, the corner of his mouth lifted, and she got a hint of that killer smile once more. “I just don’t want you to think that the attraction I feel for you has anything to do with Leah.”

  She’d been on the verge of smiling herself, but that stopped it. Bree shook her head.

  “I’m not trying to work out custody issues with you in bed,” he clarified.

  Oh.

  At first there was a jolt of anger, that maybe Kade would think that’s what she was trying to do. But she kept staring at him and didn’t see any sign of it.

  The only sign she saw was the confirmation that what she felt for him had zilch to do with Leah. Or with the danger. It had to do with the fact that he was, well, hot.

  She groaned and leaned her head against the window. “Sex should be the last thing on my mind right now.”

  “Yeah,” Kade agreed.

  That didn’t make it true.

  Both of them knew that.

  “I’m thinking when you’re a hundred percent, we just get it over,” he continued. “I mean, we worked ourselves up on the assignment. Now the close contact is steaming things up again. If we could just find the time to jump into bed, that might cool us down.”

  Her smile came, anyway. “Is that some kind of invitation to your bed?” Oh, yes. Headfirst into that brick wall.

  He took her hand, lifted it and brought it to his mouth to kiss. “I already have you in my bed, but you’re not in any shape for sex.”

  Her mind agreed.

  Her body didn’t.

  And Bree was about to blurt that out when Kade’s phone buzzed. He answered it but said little so she couldn’t tell if the caller was Grayson. Soon, she’d want to contact Kade’s brother and make sure the trip to San Antonio had gone smoothly.

  Bree prayed it had.

  “Let me know if you find anything,” Kade said to the caller, and he hung up. “That was Nate, my brother at SAPD. It’s not about Leah,” he quickly added.

  Good thing, too. Her mind wasn’t going in a good direction on this.

  “Nate sent one of his detectives to Tim Kirk’s apartment, but it’s been ransacked. His wall safe had been opened, and it was empty.”

  Definitely not good. Any potential evidence had probably been destroyed or contaminated. Still, Bree had a gut feeling that Kirk was the person who’d kidnapped her. Proving it, though, would be a bear.

  But then, as Kade was pulling into the parking lot of the sheriff’s office, she saw someone who could maybe clear all of this up.

  Anthony.

  He was heading inside the front door of the building. For the interview no doubt, but he clearly wasn’t happy about being there. And he was alone.

  No witness.

  However, that wasn’t the only thing Bree wanted to question Anthony about. It was that phone call that Kirk had made to him.

  Kade and she got out of the truck, and both checked their surroundings. Old habits. Plus, the events of the morning still had her on edge. Bree wished that she’d at least brought a firearm with her just in case someone had already hired another hit man, but she’d given Kade back the little Colt that he carried in his ankle holster.

  They stepped inside the back entrance, but the sound of the voice stopped them. A voice that Bree recognized.

  Hector McClendon.

  And whomever he was talking to, it wasn’t a friendly conversation. McClendon was speaking in whispers, but the anger in his tone came through loud and clear.

  Kade pointed to the last room on the right and put his finger to his mouth in a stay-quiet gesture. Bree did, and she listened.

  “I don’t know what game you’re trying to play,” McClendon snarled. “But I’m warning you to keep your mouth shut. If you don’t, Bree Winston isn’t the only person who’ll be on the business end of a rifle.”

  Chapter Ten

  Kade couldn’t wait to see the face of the person that Hector McClendon had just threatened. He stepped into the doorway.

  And saw Jamie Greer.

  Both McClendon and Jamie snapped toward Kade and Bree. Jamie’s eyes were wide, and she appeared to be shaken. Not McClendon, though. He just cursed. It was ripe, raw and aimed at Kade and Bree.

  Especially Bree.

  The venomous look the man gave her made Kade want to punch his lights out. Great. No objectivity left, and while punching McClendon might make him feel a little better, it wouldn’t do anything to help their investigation.

  “Eavesdropping,” McClendon barked. “Figures.”

  Kade shrugged. “If you want your death threats to be more private, maybe you shouldn’t do them in a sheriff’s office.”

  “It wasn’t a death threat. It was a warning.”

  “Sounded like a death threat to me,” Bree spoke up.

  Kade waited, gauging Jamie’s reaction, but the woman didn’t have much of one other than the obvious fear.

  “Deputy Garza is waiting to interview me,” Jamie said, and she stepped around the three of them and headed up the hall.

  Deputy Melissa Garza, known as Mel, would no doubt fill in Kade later if Jamie volunteered more about the threat.

  “And your brother is waiting to interview me,” McClendon informed them.

  Bree blocked the man’s path when he started out of the room. “Just to let you know, your intimidation tactics won’t work. I’m testifying against Anthony and Jamie, and I’ll testify against you too the second charges are filed. And they will be filed.”

  “Really?” McClendon stayed calm and cool. “You’d testify against me? You think a jury will listen to a woman who has gaps the size of Texas in her memory?”

  Bree looked ready to demand how he knew about her memory issues, but she stepped back. The man was on a fishing expedition, probably, and Kade didn’t want Bree to provide him with anything that he could in turn feed to his team of attorneys.

  Well, McClendon couldn’t have known about the memory gaps unless Coop had told him. But Kade had enough on his plate without looking for another angle on this. And the biggest thing on his plate came walking up the hall toward him.

  Hector McClendon’s son, Anthony.

  He spared his father a glance. The two didn’t speak. The senior McClendon walked off and disappeared into one of the interview rooms where his attorneys and Mason were no doubt waiting for him.

  “I told you that Coop would try to silence you,” Anthony said to Bree the moment they were alone.

  Kade didn’t respond, but he did step into the interview room across the hall, and he motioned for Anthony and Bree to join him. Once they were inside, Kade made a show of hitting the record button on the camera that was mounted in the corner.

  Anthony’s eyes narrowed, first at the camera, then at Bree.

  “I stand by what I said,” Anthony insisted. He sank down into one of the chairs.

  Bree leaned against the wall. “But yet you didn’t bring the witness who could corroborate your allegation.”

  His eyes narrowed even more. “The witness wasn’t available at such short notice. Tomorrow.”

  Kade wouldn’t hold his breath. He took the chair across the table from Anthony, whirled it around and sat with the chair back facing Anthony.

  “Today, we’ll talk about Tim Kirk,” Kade started. “Oh, and for the record, you do know you have the right to remain silent and the right to have an attorney present—”

  “You’re reading me my rights? Well, I already know them.” He paused only to draw breath. “You planning to take me back in into custody, Agent Ryland? Because I have to tell you that I’ll press to have your badge removed for an illegal detainment.”

  “Won’t be illegal if I have cause,” Kade tossed back.

  “Tim Kirk,” Bree prompted. She moved closer, propped her hip on the edge of the table and put on her best law enforcement face. “He tried to kill us earlier.”

  Anthony couldn’t have looked more disinterested. “So?”

  “S
o, guess who was the last person Kirk called before the attempted murder of two federal agents, a deputy sheriff, multiple civilians and a seven-week-old baby?”

  Now Anthony was interested, and those once-narrowed eyes widened. “He didn’t call me.”

  Kade nodded. “Yeah. He did. And unlike your mystery witness, I have real proof of it. I have Kirk’s cell phone.”

  “Well, I don’t have mine. It went missing yesterday.” Anthony stopped and groaned. “I thought I’d lost it, but it’s obvious someone stole it so they could set me up.”

  Kade huffed. Of course the man would come up with something. “Who would do that to you?” Kade pressed. And he would bet his next paycheck that Coop’s name was going to roll off Anthony’s tongue.

  But it’s a bet he would have lost.

  “My father,” Anthony answered.

  Bree flexed her eyebrows. “And why would he do that?”

  “To make me look guilty, of course. Don’t you see? He’s desperate, especially since his overpriced lawyers haven’t been able to stop the investigation. Now that you’re back in the picture, he’s got to be thinking he’s just days away from being arrested on something more serious than misdemeanors.”

  Bree and Kade exchanged glances, and she was probably thinking about the encounter they’d just overheard between McClendon and Jamie. Anthony was right about one thing—his father was indeed desperate.

  “You have any proof that your father stole your phone?” Kade asked.

  Anthony shook his head. “But he had the opportunity because he came to see me last night. He could have taken it when I stepped out of the room to take a call on my house phone.”

  Bree stared at the man, probably trying to determine if everything coming out of his mouth was a pack of lies.

  Or the truth that made his father look very guilty.

  “Why did he visit you?” Bree questioned.

  “Probably to steal my phone,” Anthony practically yelled, but he settled down almost immediately. “He said he was worried about you, that the person who kidnapped you probably wasn’t done. That he or she would want you dead because you might remember something that would get the person arrested.”

  “Persons,” Bree corrected. “Two people held me captive, and I think one of them was Tim Kirk. He’s linked to you with that phone call.”

  “Keep digging. He’s linked to my father, too, because dear ol’ dad is the one who hired Kirk to work at the clinic. Security,” he added with a smirk. “The man was as dirty as they came, and my father hired him.”

  That may be, but it still didn’t mean McClendon had paid Kirk to kidnap Bree or to try to kill her.

  “Go ahead, access my cell phone records,” Anthony insisted. “Maybe you’ll be able to see that the phone wasn’t at my house. I tell you, my father stole it.”

  Kade wasn’t sure he could get that kind of info from the records, but he’d try. After all, he was pretty sure McClendon was a criminal for the things that had gone on at the clinic, and it wasn’t much of a stretch for the man to try to put the blame on someone else.

  Including his own son.

  Anthony stood. “I think I should consult my lawyer now. Because it’s clear I’m not making any headway with you two. Believe what you will. But watch your backs when you’re around my father or any of his cronies. That includes Agent Cooper.”

  Kade considered stopping Anthony. Maybe putting him in lockup for a few hours until his lawyer could arrive. But that wouldn’t accomplish much other than to give Kade some satisfaction that someone was paying for what’d happened to Bree. The problem was, he wasn’t sure Anthony was the right someone.

  So he let the man walk.

  Kade stood, turned off the camera just as Bree huffed.

  “How soon can you get someone on Anthony’s cell records?” she asked.

  “I can do that with a phone call.” Kade paused. “And while I’m doing that, I can see what’s happening with the search into Coop’s financials.”

  That hit a nerve. Bree dodged his gaze, huffed again. “I’m guessing the agents have found nothing or they would have called.”

  “Yeah, that’s my guess, too.” Another pause. “That doesn’t mean they won’t find something eventually.”

  “I know.” She nodded. “I know. But unless they do, McClendon and Anthony are looking better and better for this. Is there a chance we can get Anthony’s bond revoked, or bring some charges, any charges, against McClendon?”

  “It’s possible.” And Kade would try. “There were some financial irregularities at the clinic that we could use to arrest McClendon. But either of them could still try to get to you even if they’re behind bars.”

  He ran his hand down the length of her arm. Felt her shudder. She was no doubt reliving the worst of the moments of the attacks that had led up to this.

  “Let’s go back to the ranch. Mason and the other deputies can handle these interviews, and I’ll see about setting up a video call with Grayson.”

  Her eyes lit up. “So we can see Leah.”

  Yeah. Seeing images of their baby would have to do for now. And maybe it wouldn’t be long before they had the real thing.

  Kade led her into the hall, but they’d made it just a few steps before Jamie stepped into the hall, as well.

  “I have to speak to you,” she mouthed. And she looked all around as if she expected them to be ambushed.

  That put Kade on full alert, and he eased Bree behind him. He put his hand on the gun in his holster.

  “What do you want?” Kade asked, and he didn’t use his polite voice. He was sick and tired of all the suspects and just wanted to get Bree out of there.

  Jamie looked over her shoulder again and reached into her purse. That had Kade tightening the grip on his gun, but Jamie didn’t draw a firearm. She pulled out a small folded piece of paper and handed it to Bree.

  “Read it,” Jamie instructed. “Not here. And don’t let anyone else know that I gave it to you. If anyone else is involved, I’ll call the whole thing off.”

  Kade had no idea what Jamie was talking about. Apparently neither did Bree because she started to unfold the note.

  “Not here,” Jamie repeated, her voice still barely above a whisper. “It’s not safe for anyone else to know.”

  And with that cryptic warning hanging in the air, Jamie turned and walked back into the interview room.

  * * *

  BREE LOOKED AT JAMIE’S note again, even though she already knew what it said. The message was simple:

  I’ll call you to arrange a meeting for tomorrow. By then, I’ll have the answers you need.

  “Answers,” Bree mumbled.

  Well, Kade and she were certainly short of those, but she wasn’t sure that Jamie would be the one to provide them.

  Neither was Kade.

  “It could be a trap,” Kade said, glancing at the note while he drove them back to the ranch.

  Yes, it could be. Plus, there was another question. “Why didn’t Jamie just give us these answers while we were at the sheriff’s office?”

  Kade lifted his shoulder. “Maybe because McClendon was there. Or maybe she doesn’t have them yet.”

  Well, McClendon had threatened her just minutes earlier, so Jamie could be afraid of him. Still, something didn’t add up. Bree wanted to suggest that they go back to the office and demand information, but that might cause Jamie to take back her offer.

  Right now, that offer was pretty much all they had.

  “So, what? We just wait for Jamie’s call?” she asked.

  He nodded though he didn’t seem very eager to walk into a trap. Of course, doing nothing was just as dangerous. Bree was willing to do whatever it took to speed up the investigation and get Leah back.

  Kade parked his truck directly in front of the ranch house porch, and even though there were several ranch hands there for their protection, Kade didn’t dawdle. He held on to Bree and practically raced inside. Once he had the door shut, he armed the s
ecurity system.

  Bree stood there a moment to catch her breath and try to absorb everything that’d happened. Kade must have needed the same thing because he leaned against the door and drew in a long breath. But the breath-taking moment was over quickly.

  “Our cook is at the estate in San Antonio, but I’ll fix you some lunch,” he said.

  However, Kade had barely made it a step when his phone rang.

  Kade mumbled something and pushed the button to answer the call on speaker.

  “You’re having me investigated,” Coop immediately said. “You had someone dig into my financials.”

  “I did,” Kade readily admitted. “It’s standard procedure. Anthony McClendon made an accusation about you providing security to the clinic, and I had to check it out. Just as I’ve done with all leads.”

  “It’s a witch hunt, and you know it.” Coop’s voice was so strained with anger that Bree barely recognized it.

  She thought of the conversation earlier when Kade had admitted that he might be jealous of Coop. Bree was still trying to wrap her mind around that, but she didn’t think for one second that jealousy was what had motivated Kade to investigate Coop.

  “This had to be done, Coop,” Bree spoke up. “We had to rule you out as a suspect. Standard procedure. You would have done the same thing if you were in my place.”

  Silence.

  Her heart skipped a beat. “The investigation will rule you out, right?” And Bree hated that it was a question.

  More silence, followed by more profanity. “It’ll only muddy the waters more than they already are.”

  When Coop didn’t add more, Bree glanced at Kade. And then she tried to brace herself for whatever they were about to hear from a man she’d been positive she could trust.

  “I take security jobs on the side,” Coop finally said. “It helps with the child support and my old college loans.”

  Oh, mercy. “Did you work for McClendon at the Fulbright clinic?” Bree demanded.

  “Not in the way you think,” Coop snapped. But he paused again. “A friend of a friend put me in contact with McClendon about eighteen months ago. McClendon said he thought he had some employees skimming profits, and he wanted me to set up a secret security system in addition to the basic one they already had. So I did.”