Prodigal Son

by Debra Mullins

  “Where is he?” Mendez asked.

  Weatherly grinned. “Here in Sedona.”

  “And I found that foreign national.” A man they called Murray stepped forward and handed Mendez a paper. “Also in Sedona. President Criten is staying at Los Robles Resort and Villas. He checked in last night.”

  “Well, well. Looks like a party.” Mendez handed the paper to Rafe’s father.

  “Can you tell where Danny is?” Rafe asked. He’d tried a couple of times over the last hour to find Cara’s stepbrother, but his senses had only given him the same big nothing.

  “Just within a certain square-mile range.” Weatherly pulled up a map on his laptop and pointed. “It’s a pretty big chunk of area.”

  “We could take some men and split up the grid,” Rafe said. “We’d find him faster with more feet on the ground.”

  Mendez’s mouth thinned. “Maybe you should leave this to us, son.” Distrust came off him in waves.

  The universe confirmed it for him with one glance in the team leader’s eyes. He doesn’t want you anywhere near this op. He thinks you’re reckless and dangerous.

  Well, maybe he was both those things, or had been. But not today. There was too much riding on this one.

  “I know you don’t trust me much,” Rafe said. “And I might not trust me either, not after what happened. But I’ve been working in bail enforcement for over five years now, and my record is solid. You can’t afford not to take me.”

  Mendez leaned in. “Wanna bet?”

  “Rigo.” Rafe’s father spoke quietly, but the word might as well have been a shout in the now silent room. “He will be an asset.”

  Mendez gave a short nod, but he didn’t seem convinced. “If you say so.”

  “I do.” John looked over the rest of the group. “We’ll go in pairs to cover more ground.”

  “I’m going.” Rafe’s mother stepped forward. “You may need me, John.”

  For the stone.

  Rafe didn’t know if his father heard the mental message she sent to them or if he just trusted his wife, but John nodded and said, “You’ll be with me, Maria.”

  “I’ll go with Rafe,” Darius said, drawing surprised glances. He bared his teeth in a sardonic smile. “I want baby brother where I can see him.”

  “Nice,” Rafe said. He threw sarcasm behind the word, but only to hide his startled pleasure. Either Darius had truly forgiven him, or he really did want to keep an eye on him. Maybe even both. But either was preferable to the way things had been before.

  “I thought I would go with Rafe,” Cara said.

  “No,” Rafe said. “I want you to stay here, where it’s safe.”

  “But—”

  “He’s right, Cara,” John said. “We’re all trained for this sort of thing. You’re not. I think you should stay here.”

  “I’ll leave a couple of men behind,” Mendez said. “Weatherly and Murray, you run the base here and stay with the women.”

  “Yes, sir,” both men answered.

  “What do you mean women?” Tessa asked. “I’m going with you.”

  Mendez frowned. “I know you’re very capable, young lady, but we have enough people to run the search. Three teams—”

  “Four,” Adrian corrected. “I’m going, too.”

  Mendez’s frown deepened. “And you are?”

  “Adrian Gray. I’ve got training that will be useful.”

  “He’s right,” Rafe said. “We can use him.”

  “He got through my security like it was nothing.” Rafe’s father scowled at Gray, but he couldn’t hide the hint of admiration beneath the annoyance. “We should take him.”

  “Then I’m going with him,” Tessa said. “If he’s such a badass, I should be perfectly safe.” And I can keep an eye on this guy. I don’t trust him.

  Gray sent her a look of amusement, letting everyone know that he, too, had heard the telepathic part of Tessa’s remarks.

  “Fine.” Mendez shook his head. “Big show for one small-time punk, but if he leads us to the shooter, let’s do it. Harmon, you’re with me,” Mendez continued. “Weatherly, assign everyone an area.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  * * *

  While Weatherly printed off maps and Maria made coffee, Cara leaned over and whispered to Rafe, “Can I talk to you for a minute? Alone?”

  “Sure.” He glanced around, then stood up as she did. “We’ll be right back,” he said to his father, who waved as he listened to whatever Mendez was telling him.

  Rafe took her hand and led the way out of the dining room, through the kitchen and out onto the patio. A wrought iron table and chairs complemented the tile work, and flowers surrounded them, some in planters and boxes and others in beds. Before them stretched a huge, natural rock swimming pool. Tall trees surrounded them, but the house stood high enough on the mountain to see the stunning red rock formations in the distance. He never got tired of looking at that view. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed it living in Vegas.

  “If this was my house,” she murmured, “I’d eat breakfast out here every morning. The sunrise must be amazing.”

  “It is. But you didn’t pull me out here to talk about the scenery.”

  “No.” She turned her gaze from the view and looked at him. “When all this started, it was just you and me looking for Danny. Now we have a SWAT team, and your family and Adrian Gray, a guy I don’t know if we can trust a hundred percent. I’m worried.”

  “Mendez’s men aren’t SWAT.”

  “I know, I know. But they’re a special team, right? The one you wanted to join?”

  He gave a short nod. “Yeah.”

  “So we have a special troubleshooting team—men with guns. And Adrian Gray. We don’t even know if he’s one of the good guys.”

  “For now he is.”

  “He may be after the stone.”

  “It’s possible.”

  “I don’t want Danny hurt. You can take your stone back—”

  “It’s not my stone.”

  “—and you can even take Danny into custody. I just want him to be okay.” She stepped closer and locked her gaze with his. “I want to be there when you bring him in.”

  “No. It’s too dangerous.”

  “I need to see him, to talk to him.”

  “You can do that, but after he’s safely in custody.”

  “He won’t hurt me.”

  Her plaintive tone struck a nerve. “Cara, you have a blind spot about this guy. He’s taking advantage of you, and it ticks me off.”

  “You’ve said that before.” She turned away, folding her arms, and stared at the mesas in the distance. “I’m not stupid. I know I let Danny get away with too much. But what am I supposed to do?”

  “Say no once in a while.”

  “Easy for you to say.”

  “Easy for you, too. One simple word.”

  She bent her head. “I’m all he’s got.” And he’s all I’ve got.

  He heard the thought as it drifted through her mind, and it made him ache. He came to her and rested his hands on her shoulders. “He needs to learn how to solve his own problems, and he can’t do that with you wiping his butt all the time.”

  She spun to face him, her mouth falling open. “I do not—”

  “You keep riding to his rescue.”

  “Because he needs help.”

  “Sometimes the best help you can give is to let someone fall so they learn to get back up again.”

  “Tough love and all that?”

  “Yeah. So no, you can’t come along.”

  “Fine.” She laid her hand on his chest, right on top of the crystal, and stared into his eyes, her own intense. “Promise me you’ll look out for him. Don’t let them shoot him.”

  “Nobody wants that. But if he starts shooting first—”

  She gave a shaky laugh. “Danny hates guns. Won’t touch them.”

  “Then everything should be fine.”

  “Promise me anyway.”
>
  “I promise.”

  “Okay.” She let out a slow breath. “Thank you.”

  He laid a hand over hers, and the crystal beneath started to warm. His mate. All she had to do was come near him for fireworks to happen. When she was close, he could think of nothing but her.

  And that could get us both killed.

  Which was why he had to let her go. As much as he longed for exactly what she represented—a partner, a home, the possibility of a family—he couldn’t let her take the chance. Sure, she had seen the Hunter, but what if he had to fight, to kill, and she got caught in the crossfire?

  “You must be pretty happy,” he said. “It’s almost over. You’ll be able to go home soon. Get back to your life.”

  “What?” She looked as if she’d been smacked. “What are you saying, Rafe? What about us?”

  He forced himself to keep the casual tone. “That was the deal, right? We rip up the sheets for a while until one of us decides it’s time to end it.”

  “Is that what you’re doing by leaving me behind?” She stepped back from him, dropping her hand so they no longer touched. “Have you decided to end things? Now?”

  “Maybe it’s time.” He didn’t step toward her, made no move to touch her again—and it was the hardest thing he’d ever done. “I have to take your brother back to Vegas. I just figured you wouldn’t want to be sleeping with the guy who’s going to turn Danny in.”

  “What about what you said the other night … about me being inside you? All that poetic, passionate talk?” Her voice broke, her eyes shimmering. “Was that all to keep me in bed with you?”

  “No, of course not.” He forced a smile. “I’m really fond of you, Cara. We had a great time together, and I’m more than willing to keep going until you fly back home.” He slid his gaze down her body as if she were a prime cut of meat. “You are seriously hot, and I want nothing more than to keep you in my bed. But your life is on the other side of the country, and mine is here.”

  “What if I decided to move?” She jutted her chin at him, still fighting. His little tigress. “I own my company. I write software for a living, for God’s sake. I can work anywhere. And I may have lost the condo anyway. So, what if I came out here? Would you still want to end it?”

  “You’d be willing to do that?” For a second he was tempted. They could give it a try. He could find a way to keep her safe.

  “I would, if you give me a good reason to come.”

  He looked into her eyes, saw the hope and longing and, damn it, the love. He remembered the vision of her death that had haunted him until they’d survived the bomb. If just the vision had tormented him, what would he do if something happened to her for real?

  He couldn’t be that selfish, not until his powers were more under control. Maybe if he found other Seers, someone to learn from, he could master his abilities. Maybe then they could be together. But that was a long way off. Maybe years.

  He studied her face, sketching every detail into his heart like scrimshaw. He couldn’t ask her to wait for him, and he couldn’t coax her to go home. His Cara was loving enough to want to be with him and help him while he learned and stubborn enough to resist any suggestion to go where she’d be safer. Therefore, it had to be her idea to leave.

  “Rafe? Are you going to answer me?”

  He shook his head, played the part. “Sorry, babe, I was thinking.”

  “It took that long for you to think about this?” Her incredulity raked across his raw emotions, drawing blood.

  “Rafe.” Darius called out to him from the doorway. “We’re moving out.”

  “Okay.” Rafe dropped a kiss on Cara’s head. “You stay here with the security guys. We’ll bring Danny home soon.” He turned and headed for the house.

  “Rafe!” When he glanced back, she said, “So that’s it? We’re done?”

  He shrugged. “I’m game for another ride, but we have to say good-bye some time.”

  He turned his back and jogged toward the house, quickly enough to escape her whispered reply, but not fast enough to escape the words as they slipped into his mind. Wrong answer.

  His heart cracked, but he held it together. It was better this way. She would be better this way—home, safe, and far from him.

  He reached Darius, who didn’t move out of the doorway. “What the hell are you doing?” his brother muttered.

  “Nothing.”

  Darius narrowed his eyes and glanced from Cara back to Rafe before moving to let his brother through. “You’re an ass.”

  “Yeah,” Rafe said. “I know.”

  * * *

  Cara stood on the patio and stared at the stunning landscape without really seeing it, a throbbing ache where her heart used to be. What had she expected? Rafe tended to slip away before things got too serious, and now he’d done exactly that. She’d thought she could change him. She’d imagined she could make him believe again.

  She lifted her head and focused on the mesas, blinking back the sting of tears. He hadn’t exactly kicked her to the curb, after all. He was still interested in a sexual relationship, but nothing more than that. And that wasn’t enough for her anymore. Heck, it never had been, but she’d deluded herself into thinking it was, just to be with him.

  Which was worse? The lies Warren had told her to weasel his way into the company, or the painful honesty Rafe offered, which fell so short of what she wanted?

  Her cell phone rang, vibrating in her pocket. She jumped at the sound, then slid the device out and glanced at the number. Warren. Without a second thought, she clicked the IGNORE button and slid the phone back in her pocket. Warren and his manipulations seemed very far away and unimportant now. Maybe they always had been, but she simply hadn’t realized it. She would deal with him when she got back to Jersey.

  Her phone rang a second time. Muttering, she took it out of her pocket again. Her thumb hovered over the IGNORE button until she realized this was not a New Jersey number. It was a Nevada number. Danny?

  She picked up the call. “Hello?”

  “Cara, hey, it’s me.” Danny’s voice swept through her, a soothing balm to the sting of Rafe’s lack of commitment. “Listen, change of plans. I need you to cancel that money transfer you sent to Benediction. I can’t pick it up, so I need you to send it to Flagstaff instead.”

  Her relief at hearing his voice evaporated as the meaning of the words sank in. “Danny, what are you talking about? What wire transfer?”

  “The one we talked about last night. Listen, I know I’ve borrowed a lot of money from you already, but this is life and death—”

  “Danny, I didn’t talk to you last night. I lost my cell phone and only got it back this morning.”

  He gave a rough laugh. “Come on, Sis, this is no time for jokes. I know your voice. You agreed to send me twenty-five hundred dollars.”

  “I’m not joking.” Her stomach lurched, and she forced herself to overcome the urge to panic and speak calmly. “Listen to me, Danny. There are some very bad people after you.”

  “Yeah, I know. I owe this guy some money. But I’ve got that all worked out. I can pay him back and you, too—”

  “No, these people are not from your bookie. They want the stone.”

  She could practically hear his panic in the pause that followed. In the forced normalcy he tried to inject into his voice. “What are you talking about, Cara? What stone? These are Tornatelli’s guys.”

  “No, they’re not. Danny, you know I love you, right?”

  “Yeah, yeah, sure. I love you, too.”

  “I’m telling you this to save your life because I love you. The people chasing you are after that stone you took from Bartow’s safe. I can help you, but only if you trust me.”

  “Aw, come on, Cara.”

  She heard a sound behind her and turned to see Murray in the doorway. He gave her a hand signal to indicate she should keep Danny talking. Obviously they were tracing the call. She nodded.

  “This is it, Cara,” Danny was say
ing. “This is the big score. Bartow really screwed me over by having me arrested for a little joyride, so I figured he owed me, you know?”

  Damn it. She squeezed her eyes shut. When had Danny become someone who disregarded the law for his own selfish purposes? Had she had a hand in that by bailing him out so many times, by not letting him take the consequences of his irresponsible actions?

  “This thing is going to fix all that,” Danny said. “And I’m going to pay you back every dime I owe you, Cara, with interest. You can buy one of those big houses in Bergen County, way nicer than that condo.”

  “I appreciate the thought, Danny. I really do.” She didn’t mention the condo, afraid her anger about it would come through. “But these men are dangerous. They’ve already killed Artie Bartow.”

  “Bartow’s dead?”

  “Yes. Now listen to me. I can help you, but you have to trust me.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe I should keep moving. Bartow’s dead. Holy crap.” Agitation edged his voice.

  “Danny, there’s a reward for the return of the stone.” She winced as she lied, but she knew him like no one else. He was about to run, and she didn’t know if she would ever find him if he did.

  “A reward?” The panic still lingered, but interest edged his tone.

  “Yes. You know John Montana?”

  “The millionaire? Yeah, sure.”

  “Well, that stone is a family heirloom that was stolen years ago. He’s offered a reward for its return. You could claim that, Danny.”

  “Seriously? How much of a reward?”

  “A quarter of a million dollars.” She crossed her fingers as she named the dazzling figure. “And since the stone was stolen to begin with, I bet there would be no charges against you.”

  “Yeah. Yeah.” She could practically hear him thinking. “I would be like a recovery expert or something. An innocent bystander.”

  “Exactly.”

  “So how would I do this? Claim the reward, I mean.”

  “Well, I’m at John Montana’s house in Sedona,” she said.

  “His house? Seriously? How’d that happen?”

  “I met his son in Vegas. It’s a long story.”

  “Wow, Cara. A millionaire’s son? Way to go, Sis.”

  She shook her head at the admiration in his voice. “Tell me where you are, Danny. I could send one of his security staff to pick you up. This guy has personal jets and helicopters, the works. His guy could bring you back here to the estate.”