by Rita Herron
From her baby brother’s room, she heard a soft cry. She paused on the back staircase, waiting to see if her father roused. But his room was on the opposite end from the nursery. The housekeeper would probably go to him.
Guilt pressed against her chest. Justin hated the new housekeeper.
The wail grew louder, and she rushed to the nursery and eased the door open. Justin stood in the crib, jerking with sobs. With the moon glinting through the window shade, she saw his chubby fists curled around the edge of the crib. Saw the tears streaming down his little face. Her heart squeezed.
“Mommy….” he whimpered. “Want Mommy.”
Joey’s stomach knotted. Poor little Justin. He missed their mother. At least she’d had a few good years with Donna when she was young, before the drinking and fighting with Leland had begun. Not that she blamed her mother. If her husband cheated on her like her father cheated on Donna, she’d probably be depressed, too.
No, she’d kill his sorry ass instead.
“Mommy!” Justin cried. “Want Mommy!”
“Shh, Justin, Joey’s here.” She forced her voice to a whisper, then carried him to the rocking chair in the corner. Justin wrestled for a minute, fussing, but she stroked his round head, smiling at the fine baby hair on his scalp, and began to sing his favorite lullaby.
Justin clutched his blue blanket in his fists. “Want Mommy…”
“I know,” Joey whispered with tears in her eyes. She wanted her, too. But the judge said they had to live with Leland and his whore. So she and Justin had to stick together. She cradled him closer. She’d take care of him, always…
JOEY JERKED AWAKE, heaving with tears and rocking herself back and forth. She’d never stop missing her brother, wondering if he was dead. And if her parents had arranged Justin’s kidnapping and were responsible for his death, she would help send them to jail.
What if they were overlooking a suspect? Maybe another one of her father’s lovers. Or Lou Anne’s.
Would he share their names with her if she asked?
Her phone jangled and she checked the number. The governor. Tempted to ignore the call, she pushed the hair from her face, but she couldn’t avoid her boss. Not the governor of Texas.
She picked up the handset, not surprised to hear him rant her name.
“What in the world is going on, Joey? I saw the news. You were attacked last night?”
Hell. Dennison again. How had he found out? Was he tapped into the police scanner? “I’m fine, Governor Grange. I guess my being here is making someone nervous.”
“Maybe you should come back then,” he said in a concerned voice. “I’ll send someone else to handle the press.”
A man. No, she’d worked too darn long and hard to get this post to run with her tail tucked between her legs. “No, I can handle things. Besides, I’ve connected with Sergeant Cole McKinney.”
“Connected?”
She swallowed, not wanting to elaborate. “Yes, he and his half brothers are estranged, so I think he may be a good source for us.”
“Ahh, the bastard son with vengeance on his mind. Wonderful. He’s ready to put Jim McKinney away then?”
Joey stiffened at his referral to Cole being a bastard. “Yes. And I think that Lou Anne might have been having an affair with someone else. I’m going to look into that angle today.”
A long pause. Then the governor cleared his throat. “Are you sure that’s smart? The evidence has pointed to Jim McKinney all along.”
“And to my father,” Joey said. “The other McKinney brothers are trying to get the grand jury to indict him.”
“So you believe your father is innocent?”
The governor had asked her the same question before she’d left and she hadn’t known how to answer. She still didn’t. “I don’t know. But I want the truth once and for all.”
“All right.” He made a noise in his throat, then Joey heard his wife’s soft voice in the background. “Let me know what you find out. But be careful, Joey.”
Joey agreed, then hung up and headed to the shower. She had work to do, and she desperately wanted to prove herself to the governor.
Even if it meant exposing all the dirty little secrets in Justice. Including her own family’s.
BY DAWN Cole had showered and dressed. He paced the small room, anxious to confront Stella and his father.
But he didn’t want to leave Joey alone.
He heard the shower water kick on in her room and groaned. The next half hour was brutally torturous as images of a naked and soaking wet Joey traipsed through his mind. Joey’s perky breasts slick with soap, her nipples distended from the water’s sensation, bubbles sliding down her belly, legs and thighs.
Finally he’d had enough. With his badge pinned in place to remind him of his purpose in Justice, he strode next door and knocked. Had he given her time to dress or would he find her wearing a towel, naked beneath?
Much to his disappointment, when she opened the door, she was dressed. But the short denim skirt looked feminine as hell, with a tank top that outlined her voluptuous shape. God, even clothed, she was a tempting siren, and it was only 6:00 a.m.
“What are your plans today?” he asked.
She tilted her head sideways and studied him, a sparkle of interest in her eyes that did nothing but send fire to his belly. “I’m going to eat breakfast at Donna’s. Then I thought I’d visit my old man.”
He nodded. “Why don’t we stop by the hospital and see Stella on the way? We’ll go from there to question Jim.”
“You want us to go together?” Surprise tinged Joey’s voice.
“After what happened last night, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
Wariness and something else flashed in her eyes—a frisson of sexual arousal? “You’re going to be my bodyguard, Cole?”
“Yep. I plan to guard your body with my life,” he said, allowing a teasing note to enter his voice.
Her eyes lit up. “Why doesn’t that make me feel safe?”
He chuckled and leaned forward, then took her arm. “Because you know I want you,” he said bluntly.
Laughter erupted from her, but she didn’t back away. Instead she walked down the hall, her hips swaying as if to confirm that she liked his flirting.
He liked her, too. Which complicated the situation even more. He’d wanted women before, but he’d never actually liked one.
Thankfully breakfast at Donna’s sobered them both from their banter. Tension thrummed through the room as soon as they entered. The locals seemed nervous, darting furtive glances around as if expecting a killer to emerge from their booth and suddenly strike.
The reporter, Harold Dennison, approached. “I heard you were assaulted last night. Care to comment, Miss Hendricks?”
Joey shrugged. “No.”
He tapped his pad impatiently. “Come on, Joey. You work for the governor. An attack on you is newsworthy and you know it. Especially since your family is involved in the investigation of both the Wallace murders.”
“You’ve already got your story,” Joey said emphatically. “So buzz off, Dennison.”
Anger flared in the man’s beady eyes, and for a moment, Cole thought he was going to pounce on Joey. He stood abruptly, jarring the condiments on the table as his leg knocked the table edge. “You heard the lady. Now get lost or you deal with me.”
“Are you threatening me?” Dennison’s eye twitched.
Cole jerked him by the collar, smiling as the man’s chicken neck bobbed red. “I’m an officer of the law, mister. I can arrest you for interfering with an investigation, and make sure you get buried in some cell where you’ll wish I had hurt you.”
“This is not over. I will get the whole story.” Dennison slanted a furious look at Cole but stalked off.
Cole saw Donna watching him from the corner. An odd expression flared on Rosa’s face. Almost a smile as if she was pleased that he’d defended Joey.
He threw some money on the table. “Come on, Joey. We
have work to do.”
She took a last sip of her coffee and headed to the door. Outside, the morning air already felt stifling. Joey lifted her hair off her neck and fanned it, making him itch to kiss that soft area behind her earlobe.
But he ignored his instincts, climbed in the Rangers-issued vehicle and drove straight to the hospital. He wanted to talk to Jim, but first he’d hear Stella’s side of the story. His gut tightened. Or maybe he was just stalling seeing his old man.
Joey clenched the dashboard as he parked. “Do you want me to question her?”
He shook his head. “I’m not running like my mother did,” he said. “Let everyone here deal with it.”
She nodded, and climbed out and they walked up to the entrance. Inside he checked with the nurses’ station and asked for Stella’s room number.
“I’m sorry, but only family members are allowed visitation,” the nurse said.
“It’s imperative that I speak with her.” Cole flashed his badge. “Sergeant Cole McKinney.”
The woman glanced nervously at an older nurse who shook her head. “The doctor’s orders were very specific.”
A man’s voice echoed from the hall, and Cole froze. Zane’s. Sloan’s voice followed.
Ignoring the nurse’s scowl, he strode down the hall. Joey followed on his heel, silent but supportive.
He spotted his half brothers standing outside a closed door and met them with a stony look.
“What in the hell are you doing here?” Zane asked.
“I came on official business to talk to Stella.”
Sloan stepped forward, arms crossed. “Our mother is not up for visitors. She’s fragile and needs rest.”
“As a Ranger, I have every right to question her,” Cole said.
“I’m in charge of this investigation,” Zane stated in a commanding voice. “And I say that you don’t.”
Joey cleared her throat. “As a representative of the governor’s staff, I say Cole is entitled to question Stella.”
Both men glared at Joey.
“Tell the governor that our mother is ill, and that she cannot be interrogated.” Zane’s deep voice boomed with authority as he addressed Joey. Then he hooked a thumb toward Cole. “Especially by him.”
“That’s right,” Sloan interjected. “You will only upset her, Cole. She can’t handle seeing you right now.”
Cole gritted his teeth so hard his jaw ached. “But Stella might know something to help solve this case. And you two are covering for her.”
“She’s heavily medicated and incoherent,” Sloan muttered.
Suddenly the door swung open, and Stella’s frail form appeared. Her face looked gaunt, thin, and dark circles shadowed her large eyes. She clung to the doorway as if she might slide right down to the floor if she let go.
“Good grief, boys, what’s all this shouting about?” She spotted Cole and swayed. “Why are you here? To rub my nose in my husband’s indiscretions?”
The pain and tears in her voice sparked guilt to flare in Cole’s chest. This woman hated his mother and him, but his mom had been a victim of Jim’s wandering libido.
“No, Mrs. McKinney. I want to know if your husband killed Sarah Wallace and her mother,” Cole said matter-of-factly.
Zane reached for his mother to hold her upright. “Leave us alone!” Stella whispered harshly. “Go back to your heathen mother.”
Grief seared Cole. “My mother is dead. She has been for years.”
“So now you want to intrude on our family?” Stella shrieked. “I won’t let that happen. We already have enough trouble!” She clutched both her sons as if they were anchors. “Make him leave now, please, make him go away.”
Cole felt Joey’s hand on his arm, but he eased away from her touch. “I’m sorry, Mrs. McKinney—”
Suddenly Harold Dennison appeared as if he’d emerged from the woodwork, and a camera flash blinded Cole. Dennison snapped more pictures in rapid succession, capturing Stella’s frantic screams. Sloan tried to coax his mother into the room while Zane snarled at Dennison. “Get the hell out of here!”
“You can’t stop me from reporting the news,” Dennison said with a smirk on his face.
“You have no right to follow Texas Rangers or spy on my family,” Zane barked.
Joey reached for Dennison’s arm. “Harold, you can’t print those photos—”
Dennison shook his finger at them. “You may be Rangers, but your family is dead center in the middle of these murders, and if you’re covering for them, you’ll be exposed.”
Zane shoved Dennison toward the door. “We do not have to answer to you. We’re the law here.”
“Yes, you do answer to me,” Dennison wailed. “The public has a right to the truth. The citizens of Justice are terrified.”
“Get out!” Zane yelled.
Stella sobbed against Sloan, while he tried to soothe her pitiful cries.
Behind them footfalls pounded the floor. Boots. Then a commanding voice. “What in the Lord’s name is going on?”
Zane hauled Dennison toward the exit.
Cole’s stomach clenched. Jim McKinney stalked toward him wearing a pearl-gray Stetson, jeans, a white shirt and tie—dressed like a Ranger. Except his badge was missing.
A tail of a rattler dangled from the silver rope hatband. His hair was slightly graying and his back slightly bowed, but he still seemed formidable, a stranger who obviously didn’t want Dennison or him around.
A cold, shocked look settled on Jim’s face as his blue eyes met Cole’s.
Cole forced steel to his backbone and tried to ignore Stella’s shrieking. After all these years, it was time to introduce himself to the man who’d sired him and treated him as if he was a piece of garbage.
Chapter Nine
Joey tried to remain calm as the tension escalated between the McKinneys. Stella looked as if she might faint any minute, and when Zane returned, a vein bulged in his neck. He would tear Cole apart if he upset her further.
Compassion for Cole stirred her own anger at the circumstances. He had been an innocent baby born from an affair and had been cast away from his rightful father. It wasn’t fair. He deserved the same love and benefits Zane and Sloan had received, but instead had suffered their disdain, as well as ridicule from others.
“You need to leave, Cole,” Zane said. “You’ve caused enough damage as it is.”
“He’s right.” Sloan tried to coax an hysterical Stella back inside the room.
A flash of pain mixed with anger on Cole’s face. Joey felt the injustice of his brothers’ words and wanted to defend him, but also understood Zane and Sloan’s predicament. They were simply protecting their ill mother.
Still, Cole wasn’t the villain.
His expression changed from anger to sympathy as Stella leaned against Sloan and nearly passed out, raising Joey’s admiration for him more.
“Put your mother back to bed.” Jim gestured toward Sloan and Zane, then turned a harsh look on Cole. “You shouldn’t have come here, Cole.”
“I realize none of you want me around. But I’m a Texas Ranger, too.” He tapped his badge. “I’m sworn to uphold the law with this badge, and I intend to get to the truth.”
Jim’s mouth flattened into a thin line. “Then let’s go somewhere and talk.”
Zane reached for his father’s arm as Sloan ushered his mother inside the room and shut the door. “Dad, you don’t have to do this.”
Jim tipped his Stetson back and absentmindedly rubbed a hand over his shirt where his badge would have been. Joey had seen Cole make the same gesture more than once. Sloan and Zane did the same thing.
Maybe the men were more alike than they realized.
“Fine,” Cole said. “Lead the way.”
“There’s a coffee shop around the corner.” Jim glanced at Joey, his graying eyebrows arched. “I heard the governor sent you.”
“Yes, and she’s coming with us,” Cole said in a voice that invited no argument.
�
��Cole, if you want time alone, I’ll meet you later,” Joey offered.
Cole shook his head. “No, there’s nothing we have to say that you shouldn’t hear. After all, you’re overseeing the investigation.”
Jim shifted on the balls of his feet, looking nervous, but nodded abruptly and led the way down the stairs to a coffee shop adjoining the hospital. When they all had steaming cups of coffee in hand, they claimed a booth.
“All right, Cole, what do you want to ask?” Jim said.
Emotions tinged his eyes, telling Joey more about Jim McKinney than he wanted to reveal. He was sizing up Cole, soaking in details about him as a parent would a long-lost child. He was glad to finally meet his third son. That he had regrets, not just about the investigation, but about his illegitimate child. He wanted to know more about him, to reach out and touch him.
He wanted to say things that he’d never say, especially in front of her. Maybe never.
Because he didn’t think he had a right.
And he didn’t. Not after he’d abandoned Cole all his life.
And Cole—she sensed he wanted more, too, but he wouldn’t allow himself to ask for it.
The reasons came to her with undying clarity. Cole had built walls of steel around his heart to protect himself just as she had. He was afraid of being rejected. Of being hurt. Of not being wanted.
She sipped her coffee, and blinked back tears. Or maybe she was projecting her feelings and needs onto Cole because she was thinking about her impending reunion with her own estranged father.
Either way, Cole McKinney touched something deep inside her, something she hadn’t expected to feel.
COLE HATED HIMSELF for caring what Jim McKinney thought of him, but he’d imagined this meeting for so long that he needed time to absorb the moment as they settled into their seats. He wanted his father to see that he’d achieved professional status and was on the same level as Sloan and Zane, Jim’s real sons.
But of course, his mere presence had rocked the tight little family unit. And the fact that he’d upset the fragile Stella McKinney had not won him favors.
Dammit, he even felt sorry for Stella himself. She was pitiful.