by Reina Torres
JAKE: me too
JAKE: i miss talking to you
Yep, she melted at the message on the screen.
HILDIE: Remember that when I talk your ear off. Do you want to come to my apartment tonight?
JAKE: sooner
JAKE: going back to the office
JAKE: can you meet me there
She smiled at the phone.
HILDIE: Already headed in that direction. I’ll see you there. No rush, I’ll entertain myself. Just be safe.
JAKE: you be safe
She rolled her eyes. What was going to happen to her? She was ten minutes away from the safest building she knew.
Texas Ranger Westin King climbed into the SUV beside Jake, and it took Jake a moment to register the fact. “Oh, hey. Ready to go?”
Wes snapped his seatbelt in place. “Yeah. You want me to drive?”
Jake narrowed his eyes and glared at his partner. “You have something to say about my driving?”
Wes’ expression told him where to shove the question. “You’re a little on edge.”
“That was Hildie. We’re going to talk.”
Relaxing against the back of his seat, Wes let out a low whistle. “Thank heavens. You’ve been walking around like someone kicked your puppy.”
“Ha ha, very funny.” Jake shifted the vehicle into drive and headed out. “I keep shoving my foot in my mouth every time I try to fix things and apologize.”
Wes’ laughter wasn’t really helping. “It happens. The important part is as long as she’s still letting you try, then you’ve got a chance. When she starts slamming the door in your face and not taking your calls, you’re in trouble.”
Jake kept his gaze fixed on the road ahead of them and the mirrors. “I’m not planning on letting it get there.” He smiled at the thought of Hildie, staring him down during their last ‘discussion.’ “She means too much to me to let things go on like this. There has to be a way that we can… I don’t know, compromise?”
Wes shook his head. “I used to be like you once.”
Jake slid a look in the other man’s direction. “And what does that mean?”
“If you’re considering compromise as a last resort, you’re in trouble. I’m guessing you were being stubborn.”
“We’re both stubborn. My CO in the Academy called it ‘dogged determination.’”
“A good trait in a law enforcement officer isn’t always a good trait in a relationship.”
Jake shook his head. “Tell me about it. Look, this all started because I wanted to protect her and keep her out of danger.”
Tapping his foot on the floorboard, Wes nodded. “Any chance that ‘protection’ sounded something like ‘Do what I say not what you want to do?’”
Jake remained silent as he replayed the whole situation in his head. “Something like it.”
“And she still wants to talk to you? You’re a lucky man.”
“I know,” Jake sighed, “I’m planning on groveling.”
A slow indrawn hiss of sound, turned Jake’s attention back to his partner.
“What?”
“Now, I don’t know Hildie as well as you do, obviously, but she’s never seemed like the kind of woman who’d expect or want that out of a man. She seems more like the give as good as she gets. If I was taking a guess, I think you might just ask her what it’s going to take to get back in her good graces and be ready to pay up.”
“I’m ready, Wes. All I want is to fix this and put it behind us. There’s so much in life that I want to spend my time and effort on, and it all revolves around her.”
Wes settled into his seat and smiled. “Good, then make sure you don’t cram your feet in your mouth like you’ve been doing.”
Jake laughed and sighed. “I’m going to do my best not to.”
“Good, because you’re going to be insufferable if you mess this up.”
Hildie waved to a few of the rangers as she walked in through the back door from the parking lot. Even before she started seeing Jake, she’d been a visitor at the station a time or two, and people recognized her enough that they let her roam around. She knew where she could go and where to avoid so she didn’t get in anyone’s way.
The headquarters for the investigation had been moved into an old storage room near the back of the station, and she knew there would be chairs available for her to sit in while she waited. That kept her off the main floor, and even if Jake didn’t head there first, he would end up there sometime. She stopped into the ladies’ room to freshen up. It wasn’t so much the puppy fur all over her outfit, she didn’t want to look a complete mess when she saw him. Her mother would be scandalized by the very idea and really, she could deal with a lot, but not her mother pitching a fit. Setting her purse on the counter, she pulled out her brush and fought a few of the tangles free with a few winces here and there. “Ouch. That was a little rough.” She dropped the brush back into her bag and smiled at the metal key fob that winked at her in the light. On one side was engraved a heart and on the other a Texas Ranger badge. Jake had given it to her a few days ago, and he’d had this odd look on his face when he’d put it in her hand as if he was worried she was going to throw it at him.
Instead, the thought had touched her. He wanted to give her something to remind her of him wherever she went. When she missed him, she’d reach for her keys and hold the fob between her thumb and forefinger and rub her thumb across the star badge. It calmed her, but it also made her feel a little giddy to have a piece of him with her when she was out and about in the world.
Sure, things had been… difficult with their impasse about Anne, but at the heart of it all she couldn’t ignore how much of an indispensable part of her life Jake had become.
When he wasn’t beside her at night, she couldn’t really sleep well, as if not having him nearby was essential to her peace of mind.
Okay, she couldn’t just hang out in the ladies’ room. It would have been different if Sloane had been there, or if Hayden had stopped by, but standing alone in a restroom was borderline creepy. Like, check under the bottom of the stall to make sure a serial killer wasn’t waiting to pounce, creepy.
Shaking her head at herself, she picked up her purse, settled it on her shoulder before dropping her keys into her jeans pocket. Silly, but she felt like she needed it close until she saw Jake.
With that done, she reached for the door.
Taking the off ramp toward the station, Jake looked over at Wes. “One thing that’s been bothering me…”
“Besides your woman troubles?”
Wes held up his hand in surrender and listened in.
“The killings haven’t been following the order in the book, but I can't help but think there’s an order to it that we haven’t figured out.”
Nodding along, Wes agreed. “It doesn’t make sense as random killings, but how do we figure out the order that they are using? Maybe it has something to do with Joe specifically?”
“Yeah.” Even though he’d agreed with Wes’ suggestion, he wasn’t all that sure. “We could look into that, but I have a feeling that it’s not something specifically about Joe.”
He slowed to a crawl before stopping at the light. “I think it’s us, Wes.” Jake knew he probably sounded a little crazy, but he’d been having these feelings. “I feel like we need to look at ourselves.”
“Hold on now!” Wes’ tone was indignant. “Are you telling me that you think someone’s dirty?”
“No,” even as he said it, Jake wasn’t completely sure, but it didn’t make sense that a Ranger would be involved in a case like this with the other side. It took a lot of time and effort to be qualified to pin on the badge made with the care and dedication of a master craftsman and imbued with the rich history of all the rangers before him. “No, I’m sure it’s not one of us. Somewhere… somehow… they’re getting some kind of specific information that’s making them choose the order.” His confidence took a hit as he considered the situation. “I’m probably making a mountain out of a m
olehill.”
There was a ponderous moment of silence in the car before Wes spoke up.
“I don’t see how they’re doing it or why, but I’d go with your instinct, Jake. If that’s what’s in your head, chew on it for a while and see where it leads you. Maybe you have the answer.”
Jake nodded and slowed to make another turn. “I’ll have to mull it over for a bit. First, I need to talk to Hildie and get back on the right track with her. Being at odds with her is messing with my head.”
Wes’ smile rankled Jake a little.
“What? Laughing at me?”
“At you?” Wes shook his head. “Hardly. Laughing with you, but you won’t be laughing about it until later. You’re too close to the problem.”
“I already know the problem. I tried to out stubborn a woman.”
Wes reached over and clapped him on the shoulder. “That’s only part of it.”
A knot twisted Jake’s insides together. “Enlighten me?”
With a sigh, Wes reached into his pocket and pulled a card from his wallet. “You’ll need this when you figure it out.”
Jake took the card and read the type on it at the next red light.
“A realtor?”
“My Laine. You’ll want that when you finally realize you’re going to need to put a ring on that stubborn woman’s finger.”
Jake huffed. “I don’t think it’ll make things any easier. Do you?”
“Easier? Jake, I’m not a magician, but I am a man who loves a stubborn woman. The ring is to warn off the other men like us, who love a woman with sass and brains, that she’s already got herself a man that drives her nuts.”
Jake almost choked on his laughter. “A fair warning to get their own.”
Wes nodded. “Exactly. They’ve already got their hands full civilizing us.”
Nodding, Jake tucked the card in his shirt pocket. “I’ll keep this for later. You know,” he turned for a moment and gave Wes a grin, “we don’t deserve them.”
“Truer words, Jake, have never been spoken.” He gestured at the road ahead of them. “Now, let’s get back.”
“Yes, sir. You’ll get no arguments from me.”
Wes leaned back in his seat with a smile. “You’ll have plenty from her if you mess it up again.”
Jake groaned. “Don’t remind me.”
When Hildie opened the bathroom door she stopped short. “Oh, sorry!”
The janitor’s smile was immediate, but it didn’t seem all that genuine. “No problem.”
She moved to the side to let him through with his cart, but he stood there. In the doorway. “You can come in. I was on my way out.”
His smile deepened, but it still didn’t reach his eyes. “Anyone else in there?”
“Uh, I don’t think so, but I just came in myself a moment ago.” Again, she tried to move past, but the cart wasn’t going to make that possible. “I-”
“Could you look?”
The question stunned her. “What?”
“Could you look, you know, under the door, and see if anyone’s in here? They don’t like it when a guy looks.”
It wasn’t like she was in a rush, and she could understand the problem. No one wants a guy to look under the stall walls.
“Okay, sure.” Turning on her heel she moved closer to the stalls and noticed that like so many others, their default position was closed, unlike the bathrooms at Helping Hearts where they had to be pulled closed and locked to be set in place. “Hello?” When no one answered she gave in and leaned down and to the side to look for feet.
Hildie saw the base of the toilet and turned her head to check the other stall. Empty as well. “Okay, you’re safe. You can start-”
Something struck the base of her skull, and the last thing she felt was the cool press of tile against her cheek before the lights went out.
Chapter 15
Hildie had been awake long enough to know how much trouble she was in. It was exponentially more than the pain radiating through her head.
And every single rut and bump in the road made it worse.
Still, she had enough common sense, or maybe it was anger, for her to do her best to search around the trunk of the car. Hands bound behind her, she could only scoot around and feel for things behind her. A plastic bottle of something, partially filled with liquid. She could tip it back and forth but there wasn’t any heft to it, not enough to use it as a weapon and she didn’t want to open it without knowing what was in the bottle. It might be more dangerous to her in a closed space if it was caustic.
Another rut in the road bounced her up in the air and down again. She felt the hit in her hip, but not her shoulder. It was numb, and that wasn’t good either. She needed her shoulder if she was going to be able to do anything to help free herself.
She blew out a breath and closed her eyes. She was going to have to try to see what was in front of her and to do that she had to make use of every bit of light inside the trunk. Oh, there probably wasn’t light in the way she normally thought about it, but maybe there was a crack somewhere or a rusted hole that might give her something to go by. Stuck where she was, the best she could do was everything she could possibly think of.
Goodness knows, they’d held countless classes at the Helping Hearts Center on self-defense and what to do if someone takes you captive. Hildie was in the middle of the worst kind of exam she’d ever had. She just hoped it wasn’t a final one.
After a quick review of the information that they’d gathered at the last crime scene, Jake shook his head and looked around the room.
“Something bothering you?” Wes gave him a worried look.
“Not about the case. That’s always on my mind. I’m just worried about Hildie. I would have thought she’d be here by now.”
Wes nodded. “Any chance she got waylaid in another part of the station, or a last-minute issue at the center?”
“I don’t think so. She was going to meet me here. If she had to go do something for work, I’m sure she would have said something first.”
“Yeah, after she took Anne out of town, I know you two talked about it.”
“Well I did more talking ‘at’ her than with her, but that’s why we were getting together today. I need to make sure I let her know how big of an ass I’ve been.”
With a hard laugh, Wes tapped his knuckles against the table. “I’m sure she wouldn’t want to miss that.”
“Har har, Wes.” With one more look at the room, Jake took a step toward the door. I’m going to check up front at the desk.”
Waving him off, Wes nodded. “I’ll put our evidence into lockup, and then I’ll probably head out for the day.”
Jake nodded, but his thoughts were already out the door.
Looking for Hildie.
Sloane stood at the side of the car and watched as her cool-under-fire husband managed to drop the keys twice just trying to unlock the car with the fob.
“Just calm down, ‘Cente. I’m worried that you’ll hit your head on the way down or up, if you drop them again.” Fishing her phone from her bag, Sloane dialed Hildie’s number again.
The door lock clicked as the phone rang, and as Sloane reached the car the message came on.
“This is Hildie Faraday, sorry I missed your call…”
Sloane ended the call. She’d already left her friend a message. Vicente had to be right. Something must have come up and as much as Sloane wanted her friend with her, she knew that if Hildie had her phone off there had to be a good reason.
“Ha! Got it. Let’s go, Mama.” The normally gruff expression that Vicente wore was all smiles and his eyes were bright with anticipation. “Left a message?”
Sloane hissed out a breath and gasped. “Someone is.”
Vicente dropped the keys again and reached out to her, one hand on her back and the other on her belly. “Breathe, baby. Breathe.”
Bracing a hand on the side of the car, Sloane let out a groan and started to puff through the pain. “This is going
to take forever, isn’t it?”
“Let’s just get through this, one contraction at a time, okay?”
With her insides twisting into a pretzel, Sloane had no other option than to nod, breathe, and groan. “Ooooh-kay.”
Jake stopped by the front desk. “Hey, John. Have you seen Hildie Faraday?”
The receptionist looked up from his computer and nodded. “Sure, she came in almost an hour… an hour and a half ago? She was looking for you.” He thought for a moment. “Told me she was going to wait in the case room. I’m surprised you haven’t seen her. Maybe she left?”
“I don’t think she did. We were going to talk.” Jake stepped back and scanned the room looking for somewhere, anywhere that Hildie could have gone. Someone she would have gone to talk to, or hang out with. She knew most of the people and rangers stationed in the office, but not enough to walk away with one of them.
Reaching into his pocket, he took out his phone as he walked away from the desk. “Thanks, John. If you see her, can you tell her I’m looking for her?”
John called after him. “Sure, Jake. I’ll send her to you.”
Speed Dial sent him right to Hildie’s number, and after a few rings it went to voice mail. “This is Hildie Faraday, sorry I missed your call…”
Jake squeezed his eyes shut as he listened to her voice, and when it beeped, he left a quick message. “Hill, baby, I need to know where you are. I hope to God you’re sitting somewhere having one of those ridiculous coffee drinks, and if you are, we’re going to have a talk about staying put when you come to see me.
“But right now, I just want to see your gorgeous face and kiss you like you’re holding my last breath. So, I’m about to track you down and to do that, I hope you’ve still got that key chain I gave you.”
Ending the call, he opened an app on his phone and blew out a nervous breath.
“Here goes everything.”