Книга - The Outsider’s Redemption

The Outsider's Redemption
Joanna Wayne






“I don’t know what you’re up to, Sarah, but even if I slept with you, even if I made love to you until sunup and it was the best I ever had, it wouldn’t change anything.”

“Make love? Is that what you thought I was asking you to do?”

“It sure sounded that way to me.”

“Then you don’t listen too well, cowboy.” Sarah sat up straight, this time holding the sheet so that all Cody could see was her face. “I was having a bad case of nerves and thought you were feeling down yourself. A little closeness sometimes helps, but I had no intention of—of being intimate with you.”

Cody stared at her, his mouth open, his ego slammed down a peg or two.

“But just for the record,” she continued, so angry she couldn’t bite back her words. “If I had made love with you, it would have been the best you ever had!”


Dear Harlequin Intrigue Reader,

The holidays are upon us again. This year, remember to give yourself a gift—the gift of great romantic suspense from Harlequin Intrigue!

In the exciting conclusion to TEXAS CONFIDENTIAL, The Outsider’s Redemption (#593) by Joanna Wayne, Cody Gannon must make a life-and-death decision. Should he trust his fellow agents even though there may be a traitor among their ranks? Or should he trust Sarah Rand, a pregnant single mother-to-be, who may be as deadly as she is beautiful?

Another of THE SUTTON BABIES is on the way, in Lullaby and Goodnight (#594) by Susan Kearney. When Rafe Sutton learns Rhianna McCloud is about to have his baby, his honor demands that he protect her from a determined and mysterious stalker. But Rafe must also discover the stalker’s connection to the Sutton family—before it’s too late!

An unlikely partnership is forged in To Die For (#595) by Sharon Green. Tanda Grail is determined to find her brother’s killer. Detective Mike Gerard doesn’t want a woman distracting him while on a case. But when push comes to shove, is it Mike’s desire to catch a killer that propels him, or his desire for Tanda?

First-time Harlequin Intrigue author Morgan Hayes makesher debut with Tall, Dark and Wanted (#596). Policewoman Molly Sparling refuses to believe Mitch Drake is dead. Her former flame and love of her life is missing from Witness Protection, but her superior tracking skills find him hiding out. While the cop in her wants to bring him in, the woman in her wants him to trust her. But Mitch just plain wants her back….

Wishing you the happiest of holidays from all of us at Harlequin Intrigue!

Sincerely,

Denise O’Sullivan

Associate Senior Editor

Harlequin Intrigue


The Outsider’s Redemption

Joanna Wayne






www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)




ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Joanna Wayne lives with her husband just a few miles from steamy, exciting New Orleans, but her home is the perfect writer’s hideaway. A lazy bayou, complete with graceful herons, colorful wood ducks and an occasional alligator, winds just below her back garden. When not creating tales of spine-tingling suspense and heartwarming romance, she enjoys reading, golfing or playing with her grandchildren, and, of course, researching and plotting out her next novel.

Joanna loves to hear from readers. You can request a newsletter by writing her at P.O. Box 2851, Harvey, LA 70059-2851.




Books by Joanna Wayne


HARLEQUIN INTRIGUE

288—DEEP IN THE BAYOU

339—BEHIND THE MASK

389—EXTREME HEAT

444—FAMILY TIES* (#litres_trial_promo)

471—JODIE’S LITTLE SECRETS

495—ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS

505—LONE STAR LAWMAN

537—MEMORIES AT MIDNIGHT

569—THE SECOND SON* (#litres_trial_promo)

573—THE STRANGER NEXT DOOR* (#litres_trial_promo)

577—A MOTHER’S SECRETS* (#litres_trial_promo)

593—THE OUTSIDER’S REDEMPTION


The Confidential Agent’s Pledge






I hereby swear to uphold the law to the best of my ability; to maintain the level of integrity of this agency by my compassion for victims, loyalty to my brothers and courage under fire.

And above all, to hold all information and identities in the strictest confidence….




CAST OF CHARACTERS


Cody Gannon—Being a Texas Confidential agent meant everything to him until he learned why he’d been selected.

Sarah Rand—Has she sold out to the enemy or is she just an innocent woman running for her life?

Penny Archer—The Confidential agents’ right-hand woman has a secret longing to get into the action.

Daniel Austin—A Texas Confidential agent for fifteen years, he was killed by Calderone. Or was he?

Tomaso Calderone—A ruthless criminal whom the Confidential agents have been trying to stop for years.

Elmore Cochran—The man whose office Sarah broke into to steal classified information.

Mitchell Forbes—The crusty, dynamic leader of Texas Confidential and Cody’s hero—until he learned the truth about the man behind the badge.

Brady Morgan, Jake Cantrell and Rafe Alvarez—The other members on the Confidential team. Their allegiance is to Mitchell, and Cody is not certain he can trust them with details of his current mission.

Grover Rucker—Sarah’s previous boss, recently retired.

Peter Rucker—Grover’s son, but his sudden appearance at their hideaway has Cody and Sarah wondering if he doesn’t know more than he claims.

Maddie Wells—A neighboring rancher and a widow who’s been trying to get Mitchell Forbes to pop the question for years.


This book is dedicated to my friend Virginia, who not only lives the life of a romance heroine but is a true friend who makes me laugh, even on my worst days. And to Wayne, always.




Contents


Prologue (#ue15ee118-f5f3-593c-852b-fbf0f1f02a26)

Chapter One (#u32f20b05-4eb9-516d-9e6a-00c3aafda3d0)

Chapter Two (#ue1924b79-88e5-5e29-a096-3b650b4b40e8)

Chapter Three (#ue6f56859-ebc9-55ba-aeab-a3b7b0617e1a)

Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)




Prologue


Cody Gannon’s boots clicked against the hospital’s polished tile floors as he hurried toward Mitchell Forbes’s room. The old warhorse was recovering and already raising cane with the doctors to let him go back to the Smoking Barrel. Not that anyone was surprised. A mere heart attack could never keep a man like Mitchell down.

Still, Cody had been scared to death when Mitchell had been rushed to the hospital with chest pains. The depth of his emotion had surprised him, especially since he was convinced he wasn’t quite the man Mitchell had hoped for when he’d hired him on to work with Texas Confidential. The other three guys on the undercover team did no wrong. Cody seldom did anything right, at least in the critical eyes of Mitchell Forbes.

But the cantankerous old rancher-lawman had recruited Cody himself, offered him a position based strictly on his one brush with fame and heroism. He’d said he had faith in Cody’s ability to handle the job in spite of his trouble-plagued past.

So Cody was living at the Smoking Barrel, had been for two years. The rest of the Texas Confidential agents weren’t all that impressed that he’d foiled a bank robbery attempt and saved a young girl in the process. They knew it was more instinct than bravery that had spurred him into action, but they’d welcomed him all the same and taught him what they could about working for the most exciting covert operation in the whole state of Texas.

No doubt about it, he owed Mitchell Forbes a lot for giving him the chance to be part of Texas Confidential and to finally make something of himself. He was going to make sure Mitchell knew that, and he was going to work twice as hard in the future to make the man proud of him. He picked up his pace, anxious to see for himself that Mitchell was doing as well as the others had reported.

He heard a female voice as he approached the room and recognized it at once. Maddie Wells, a neighboring rancher. He wasn’t close enough to eavesdrop, but he could tell from her tone she was in her lecturing mode. Probably reading Mitchell the riot act about smoking his cigars. She was the only one who could jump him about his bad habits and get away with it. One day Mitchell was going to slow down a tad, and Maddie would snare him.

The door to Mitchell’s room was open just a crack. He started to barge in but thought better of it. It was always a good idea to knock when a man was entertaining a woman, even if it was in a hospital room. He touched his knuckles to the door.

“Cody deserves to know the truth, Mitchell.”

He hesitated, not sure he wanted to know any truth that brought that kind of seriousness to Maddie’s tone. And if he was about to be canned, he sure didn’t want to hear that.

“Give it up, Maddie.”

Mitchell’s voice was scratchy and Cody could picture him in the bed, his muscles tight, his face drawn into stubborn lines. He waited silently, torn, knowing he shouldn’t be listening in on a private conversation but knowing he couldn’t turn away until he knew what Maddie was talking about. After all, this did concern him.

“Suppose you had died when you had that heart attack,” Maddie said, her voice far softer than usual.

“You would have gone to your grave without Cody’s ever knowing the truth.”

“That’s the way I intend for it to be.”

Cody’s muscles tightened. He’d had his share of ugly secrets in his life, but he’d thought they ended when he’d buried Frank Gannon.

“Are you telling me that you have no intention of talking to Cody about this?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. My biggest mistake was in ever telling you.”

“No, your biggest mistake, Mitchell Forbes, was in walking away from your own flesh and blood in the first place. Cody Gannon is your son, and he deserves to know it.”

Cody backed away from the door, but the words echoed in his mind, growing louder and louder until he wanted to scream at them to stop. He ducked into the stairwell and fell against the wall. He felt as if someone had slammed him in the gut with a two-by-four.

Maddie was wrong. He wasn’t Mitchell Forbes’s son. His father was Frank Gannon. He had the scars to prove it.

He took the steps two at a time, rounding one level and flying down the next. Scenes from his past reared up in his mind. Dark, ugly images that filled him with a dread so real he could taste it. Could taste the blood. Taste the fear.

But as quickly as they’d come, they were replaced by new images. Mitchell Forbes and his mother. He’d gotten her pregnant and walked away. Left her to marry Frank Gannon. Left her to die in her misery.

Cody reached the first floor and pushed out the door and into the stifling Texas heat. But it was not the sweltering heat that crawled over his skin and sucked away his breath. It was a bitterness so strong it destroyed his ability to reason.

All he knew was that if he never saw Mitchell Forbes again, it would still be eons too soon for him.




Chapter One


Cody Gannon picked up the glass and downed the bourbon. He seldom touched hard liquor, but tonight was special. A hard ball of emptiness had settled in the spot where his heart should have resided, and he needed the burn in his throat and the pain-numbing sting of the drink as it plunged into the pit of his stomach.

Cody Gannon. Illegitimate son. The words tore at his insides like crushed glass. Or shrapnel.

“Mitchell Forbes.” He said the name out loud, rolled it over his tongue, spit it past the disgusting lump that had settled in his throat.

A week ago, the man had been his hero. But that was before Cody had found out the truth about Mitchell. That’s why Cody’s gear was in his pickup truck. All he owned. Amazingly little. Jeans, shirts, boots, a couple of jackets, his guns and a saddle. Even his horse belonged to Mitchell and Texas Confidential.

He had no idea where he was headed, wasn’t even sure what town he’d stopped in. He didn’t much care anymore, as long as it was far away from the Smoking Barrel.

Regret balled in his gut. He tried to force it away, but he hadn’t drunk nearly enough to make it subside. Being a part of Texas Confidential had been more than a job. It had been his life. The first real commitment he’d ever made to anything. The best friends he’d ever had.

Now Cody had no choice but to walk away. Calderone and his band of murderous drug dealers would still be stopped, but Cody wouldn’t be in on the operation that brought them down.

“Thank you, Mitchell Forbes.” He downed the rest of the bourbon and pushed the glass away as a bearded man who smelled like he was two days past needing a bath slid onto the bar stool next to him.

“Buy me a drink, mister?”

“I’d sooner buy you a bar of soap.”

“Then save your money.”

“Suit yourself.” Cody stood and turned away from the drunk, ready to move to another stool or one of the tables in the back of the smoky saloon.

“You better save your money anyway. You’ll probably need it now that you’ve walked off your job.” The stranger leaned over the bar, his hands spread out flat on the marred wood.

Cody stopped and stared at him. His hair was gray, thin and wiry, and his skin was bronzed and weathered from hours spent in the sun. “What makes you think I lost my job?” he asked, studying the man’s facial expression as he waited for an answer.

“I don’t think. I know.” The man fingered the brim of a soiled western hat. “Tell me, is Penny still as bossy as ever?”

“I don’t know any Penny,” he lied.

“Sure you do. No one works at the Smoking Barrel without knowing Penny Archer.”

So that was it. The dirty drunk had probably worked for a while on one of the ranches near the Smoking Barrel, though he didn’t look familiar. It was no secret Cody worked for Mitchell Forbes. It was what he and the other Texas Confidential agents really did for Mitchell Forbes that was kept under wraps.

Still, the man made Cody nervous, and he might as well move on. He reached for his wallet and pulled out a few bills, enough to pay his tab and purchase one drink for the aging cowboy.

“You’re not leaving, are you?” The man reached over and wrapped his fingers around Cody’s left wrist. “I thought we’d get to be buddies.”

“Think again.”

“But we have so much to talk about. Mutual friends. A mutual enemy.”

Cody smoothed the bills he’d tossed to the table, instantly aware of the change to the man’s voice. He was no longer slurring his words, and his voice had lost all traces of frailty. He stared into the man’s eyes, and experienced a vague sense of déjà vu. “What enemy would that be?”

“I was thinking of Tomaso Calderone, but I guess if you’re not a Confidential anymore, you wouldn’t be interested.”

Cody swallowed hard. The man definitely had his attention now. No one outside of the powers in charge was supposed to know about Texas Confidential. The agents’ ability to do their job depended on people believing that they were just everyday cowboys running a ranch. So did staying alive. He lowered his voice to a mere whisper. “Who are you?”

The man met his gaze. “Don’t you recognize me, Cody?”

The voice was no longer disguised. It was smooth. Easy. Almost familiar. He squinted, taking in the wrinkles in the man’s face, his stringy beard, his wispy gray hair. The voice and the appearance didn’t match. He only knew one man who could come up with a disguise that good, and this couldn’t be him.

“I don’t have any idea who you are or what you want from me.”

“I’m Daniel Austin.”

“Daniel Austin is dead.”

“No. I’m too tough to die, though I wished for it a time or two.” His lips curled into a half smile. “I was captured by Rialto’s men, kept prisoner for months. Finally, I escaped, but by then, I knew enough about Calderone and how he worked that I was able to infiltrate his organization. I’ve worked my way all the way to the top. Calderone and me—we’re like that.” He indicated how close with two fingers on his right hand.

Cody shook his head. “No, Daniel is dead.”

“Because that’s what Mitchell Forbes told you? Believe me, that doesn’t make it true.”

Suspicion reared up inside Cody. He was supposed to be walking away from his life as a Texas Confidential agent, not being drawn into some secret conspiracy. But this man obviously knew all about them. And if he really was Daniel Austin…“Why would Mitchell be told you were dead if you’re not?”

“You know the head honchos. They don’t trust anyone.”

“They trust Mitchell Forbes.”

“Don’t be so sure.”

Cody tried to digest that last bit of information, but it boggled his mind. No one had ever infiltrated Calderone’s circle. And if someone did, and Calderone found out, the man’s body would be found in tiny pieces. Still, if anyone could do it, it would be Daniel Austin.

“So, if you’re so close to Calderone, what in the hell are you doing here?”

“My job. But I can’t do it alone.”

“Then you need to talk to Rafe or one of the others. I’m out.” Damn, here he was giving away information. The man was blowing his mind. He knew too much, but he couldn’t be Daniel Austin. Or could he?

“Listen, Cody. I know what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong. I didn’t just happen into this bar tonight. I followed you here. I need you. But before I give you the assignment, I have to be certain you’re not going to go running back to Mitchell Forbes.”

“Why’s that?”

Daniel, or at least the man claiming to be Daniel, stared straight ahead, his back still hunched, his head still low, as if he really were an elderly man. He didn’t face Cody when he talked, but when he paused, his Adam’s apple rode up and down like it was bobbing in a pail of water.

“As you know, someone has been leaking secrets to Calderone. We think it might be Mitchell himself.”

A curl of smoke from the cigarette of a man a few stools down wafted into Cody’s face. His eyes burned, but not nearly as severely as the acid that pooled in his stomach. There was a leak somewhere. That part was true. But, Mitchell?

Even as angry as Cody was with the man, he’d never imagined Mitchell capable of deceit where Texas Confidential was concerned. Not when stopping Calderone seemed to be the cause that fueled his incredible drive.

But this would be just like the department. The same minds that had dreamed up Texas Confidential would like nothing better than having Daniel Austin, their master of disguises, working so far undercover that even Calderone himself would take the man into his confidence.

“What is it you need me to do?” he asked, still suspicious, but warming to the idea of getting in on the action of bringing Calderone down. Especially when it meant he’d outdo Mitchell Forbes.

“I need you to go to the airport and pick up a woman named Sarah Rand. She’ll be flying into San Antonio and arriving at five o’clock tomorrow afternoon. After you pick her up, I’ll contact you and tell you where I’ll meet the two of you.”

“And who is this Sarah Rand?”

“She’s a secretary for the Department of Public Safety. Works for Elmore Cochran.”

Cody recognized the name though he’d never met the man. He’d just been promoted and was now the final authority over anything involving Confidential agents.

Dan leaned in closer, his voice lowered to a barely audible whisper. “Evidence indicates that Miss Rand may have been selling secrets to Calderone, and that’s what she thinks she’s doing now. I’ve offered her one million dollars to deliver some secret files to me. If she delivers, it will prove her guilt.”

Cody parted his lips as a low whistle escaped. “I don’t see how this would prove anything except that she can be bribed for a million dollars. Selling you top secret info now doesn’t mean she’s done it before. Not to mention that there are laws against entrapment.”

“You let me and the department worry about that end of it. All I need from you is a simple yes or no.”

There was nothing simple about the answer Cody was about to give. If this man was Daniel Austin, then a yes would put Cody into the thick of things. He could be a major player in the action that brought the mighty Tomaso Calderone to his knees. And how sweet it would be to let Mitchell Forbes see that he was his own man.

But if this wasn’t Daniel Austin, then he could be walking into a trap. He’d have to watch his back every minute. Nothing new there.

“I’ll go with the yes.” Daniel nodded and his eyes warmed, though his lips stayed drawn in the same thin line.

“So after I pick up Miss Sarah Rand, where do I deliver her?” Cody asked.

“I’ll let you know that at the time.”

“How do I reach you?”

“You don’t. I’ll reach you. You just pick up the woman and get her into your truck. I’ll make the connection at that point.”

“I don’t have a cellular phone anymore. The one I had belonged to Texas Confidential and I turned it in when I left. All I have is a beeper, and that only until someone cancels the contract.”

“Then I guess that will have to do.” Cody scribbled his pager number down on a napkin and handed it to Daniel though he had the sneaking suspicion the man already knew it. “How will I recognize this woman?”

“She’s young—in her twenties. Her hair’s a reddish blond and she wears it straight and just long enough to cover her ears. She’ll be wearing a hot pink suit.” Daniel stood up. “Oh yeah,” he added. “She’ll be carrying a canvas tote that says ‘So many cowboys, so little time.’ You can’t miss her.”

With that, Daniel Austin slid off his stool and staggered to the door, doing a flawless performance as an elderly drunk. His baggy pants rode his thin hips, and the back of his gray hair zigzagged in and out of his shirt collar. One of the younger cowboys moved out of his way in deference to the man’s apparent age and condition.

Cody waited a few minutes, then left the bar and walked back to his pickup truck. A few minutes ago, he’d been wallowing in his bad luck. But now the old juices were starting to flow. He was back in the saddle again.

CODY STOOD aside as the first eager passengers from Flight 109 made it to the end of the exit ramp. A few men and women in business suits, a hot-looking babe in a pair of skintight jeans, a group of elderly ladies all laughing as if they didn’t have a care in the world.

The stream of arriving passengers slowed, and doubt started to nag at the back of his mind. If this turned out to be a fishing trip to a dry creek, he was going to be downright mad at himself. He craned his neck at the first sight of hot pink. Nope. False alarm. The woman was pregnant.

The hair color fit though. Hers was shiny, strawberry blond, straight. And just long enough to brush the edges of her blushed cheeks. Dressed in hot pink with a black coat and a leather purse draped over her shoulder and pulling a wheeled carry-on bag. Cute as a button, but pregnant, and Dan would surely have mentioned it if Cody was supposed to pick up a pregnant woman.

She stopped a few feet away from him and looked around. Cody expected some young, expectant father to rush up to meet her. No one did, and he couldn’t help but notice the worry that creased her forehead and shaded her gorgeous green eyes.

She turned, and that’s when Cody saw the cloth tote bag swinging from beneath the coat. The inscription was there, just like Dan had said. So many cowboys, so little time.

Undoubtedly this was Sarah Rand. Now all Cody had to do was pick her up and take her to meet Dan so that she could be arrested. Some hero he was, apprehending a pregnant lady.

Cody backed away and then stopped. Pregnant or not, if Sarah Rand was selling secrets that could give Calderone the winning edge, she had to be stopped. He only wished she looked like Calderone or like his right-arm man Rialto had. Those were the kind of criminals a man could get his kicks from sending to prison.

He walked over and tipped his Stetson. “Mind if I help you, Mrs. Rand?”

She stared at him, then looked away, nervously scanning the crowd. Hot pink outfit, tote bag. It had to be her, so why was she ignoring him? He stood his ground. “You are Mrs. Rand, aren’t you?”

Her brows furrowed. “Why do you ask?”

“I was sent to pick you up.”

She smiled slightly. “You’re not what I expected,” she whispered, turning to glance over her shoulder.

“You don’t have to whisper,” Cody said. “We’re just a couple of friends meeting in the airport. Try to appear that way.”

“Okay.” She took a deep breath, but didn’t relax. “I know I’m supposed to act cool, but ever since I caught the plane in D.C. I’ve been a nervous wreck. The man sitting next to me kept trying to talk to me and I finally told him I had a migraine just so he’d back off. I thought about telling him I was married to a very jealous husband but I don’t wear a ring. I mean I’m pregnant and all but…”

“Okay, let’s take it easy here. I’m a cowboy. We talk and listen nice and slow.”

“I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve been so worried. I mean this is the first time I’ve ever done anything like this. I’m usually very calm, in perfect control. Well, maybe not calm, but better than this.” Her eyes darted from one side of the terminal to the other. “I’m not afraid or anything. Well, actually, I am a little scared, but it’s just because this is, well, you know, like stepping into a James Bond movie. Not that I think I’m a femme fatale. I didn’t mean that.”

He shook his head to clear it. If she talked this fast all the time, he’d grow dizzy trying to follow her. “Actually, it probably would be better if we saved the talk for later. Do you have the diskette?”

Her manner changed, grew suspicious. She tilted her head to one side. “I have it.”

He took the handle to her luggage. “Is it in here?”

“Wait a minute. Mr. Aus…, I mean my associate told me that I’m to give the disk to no one but him. I follow orders.”

“I didn’t ask you to give it to me. I only asked where it was. But don’t get all riled up. I was just trying to make sure we kept it safe. Is it in that tote bag you’re carrying?”

Her chin jutted out and her lips curled into a defiant pout. “I don’t like your attitude. I’ve a good mind not to go with you at all.”

Cody shrugged and nudged his tan Stetson back on his head. She was a spunky little thing. He guessed it took that to be the kind of woman who’d sell out to the enemy. “If you don’t go with me, you might not get paid. And your associate would be very upset with both of us. Besides, I have no intention of letting you leave here without me.”

“Okay, but don’t try to boss me around. You’re supposed to protect me and take me to…”

He threw up his hands to stop her babbling. “I’m Cody Gannon and I’m to take you to meet your associate, who we both know is Dan Austin. So let’s just get the show on the road.”

She took off down the corridor, and he followed, pulling her bag behind him. He slowed to dodge a man with a white cane who was walking against the flow of pedestrian traffic. “My truck is just outside,” he said, catching up with her easily.

“I have to stop at baggage claim to get the rest of my luggage. I wasn’t sure where I was going so I had to bring sweaters and jackets and everything.”

“It’s September, Mrs. Rand. You’d have to go a long way to need a suitcase full of sweaters and coats in Texas in September.”

“Well, it’s late September. Anyway, I’m not a Mrs. I was about to tell you that earlier, but you didn’t give me a chance to finish.” She looked down at her stomach. “The baby’s due in late December. I hope it’s born for Christmas. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’s a girl, but I don’t want to know until she’s born.”

She took a deep breath and looked up. It was the first time they’d made real eye contact, and the sudden intimacy of it bothered him. He looked away and walked all the faster.

“I’m sorry,” she said, obviously taking his action for disapproval. “When I get nervous, I just can’t seem to stop talking. Todd says it’s my insecurity. I guess he’s probably right.”

“Who’s Todd?”

“It doesn’t matter.” She stopped talking and stared straight ahead as they made their way toward the baggage area.

From babbling on and on to complete silence. He hoped she wasn’t going to be one of those moody types. One thing for sure, when he agreed to Dan’s offer, he hadn’t expected that he’d be leading a pregnant woman into a trap that would get her arrested and sent to prison.

Strange, he was supposed to be one of the good guys, but he felt a lot like a rat. He walked beside Sarah to claim her baggage, wishing every second that Dan Austin would call. The sooner he made the delivery and walked away from this, the better he would like it.

“I need to stop at the ladies’ room,” Sarah said. “Why don’t you go on to the baggage area, and I’ll meet you there?”

“No way. I was told to stick to you like flies to a Fudgsicle.”

“I don’t know why. I came this far. I’m not running out now.”

“I’m just following orders.” He took her arm and guided her to a spot by the wall where he would be out of the line of traffic but could still see the restroom door. “When you finish, meet me right here.”

“If you’re going to wait on me anyway, you can hold this.” She thrust the tote bag in his direction.

He grimaced. “No way. If you want me to hold your bags, you need to buy some that won’t get me laughed at.”

“A real cowboy wouldn’t let that bother him.” She set it down at his feet and walked away.

He watched her depart, her hips swaying seductively. Seductively? What in the world was he thinking? You couldn’t think words like seductive in reference to a pregnant woman. It was…

He didn’t know what it was, but he didn’t plan to let it happen again. He touched a finger to the pager at his waist, checking to make sure it was on. All he wanted to do was get this woman and her disk to Daniel Austin.

The disk. Surely it wasn’t in the tote bag she’d carelessly deposited at his feet. He yanked it up and started digging through it. A couple of James Bond videos, some books, a portable radio with headphones, an opened package of trail mix, a bottle of vitamins.

Nothing that even resembled a floppy disk or a CD. He looked up to find a couple of cowboys snickering at his bag. “Don’t worry,” he quipped. “You’re not my type.” Before he had time to give it another thought, the pager at his waist vibrated.

He checked the number and then turned to try and locate a pay phone. There was one about thirty yards down the corridor, but he’d have to wait for Sarah before he made the call. Shifting from one foot to the other, he wondered what in the hell was taking her so long.

SOMETHING WAS WRONG. Sarah had known it the second the young cowboy had stepped up and called her by name. Daniel Austin had promised her a bodyguard, and he wouldn’t have sent a boy to do a man’s job.

Not that the cowboy outside was younger than she was, but he wasn’t a heck of a lot older either, and he wasn’t big and brawny. He was lean and lank and much too cute and sexy to have ever been in a fight.

She’d become even more suspicious when he’d started questioning her about the location of the disk. Daniel had warned her that she might run into trouble, that she was not to give the disk to anyone but him. And, if anything alarmed her, she was to sit tight and wait for him to contact her.

That’s why she’d made up the story about having a lot of extra baggage. It would have worked, too, if the man waiting outside the ladies’ room had agreed to meet her at baggage pickup. Then she could have sneaked away without any problem. Now she’d have to use more desperate methods and pray they worked.

Stopping in front of the mirror, she shrugged her arms into the sleeves of her light coat. It wasn’t cold, but it would be easier than carrying it when she made her getaway. Taking a deep breath, she stepped outside the bathroom and walked up behind the cowboy who claimed to be her contact.

“Help, officer. This man stole my bag.” Her voice pierced the dull clamor of the crowd, echoing off the walls and ceilings.

Cody grabbed her arm, his fingers digging into her flesh. “What the devil are you doing?”

“Give me my tote bag,” she screamed, yanking it from his arm. “Thief.”

He grabbed the strap and held on. A crowd gathered around them, and two guys pinned Cody’s arms behind him while another pried the bag from his hand and presented it to Sarah. She took off running just as a cop pushed through the circle of onlookers. She didn’t wait to see what happened next.

A WALL OF HOT AIR slapped Sarah in the face as she stepped through the double doors and into the hustle of passengers just outside the airport. She had no idea where she should go or what she should do next. Mr. Austin had said she wouldn’t need any money. Still, she’d brought all the cash she had on her when he’d called and said it was time to swing into action.

A measly twenty dollars. A cab ride to downtown San Antonio probably cost more than that. Besides, there was no place for her to go once she got downtown. She’d just have to wait until she heard from him. But wait where?

A uniformed police officer stopped traffic and she crossed the street with a group of Japanese tourists headed for a motor van in the outside lane. She left them at the curb, picking up her pace and striding toward the parking garage. She could duck behind a car and wait to hear from Dan.

The dangerous part would be stealing the files, he’d assured her. After that, she could leave everything to him. Only now she was in San Antonio, alone and broke. And hungry. Tears burned at the back of her eyelids. She blinked them away. No one ever cried in James Bond movies. They always managed to do something brave and daring. She made her way to the back corner of the first floor of the garage and crouched behind a white minivan.

Her cellular phone rang, and she dug the phone from her handbag. “Hello.”

“Do you have the files, Sarah?” She recognized Mr. Austin’s voice at once, only it wasn’t calm the way it usually was. He sounded angry.

“I have them.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m in the parking garage at the airport. Your bodyguard didn’t show. Instead some cowboy tried to convince me to give him the disk.”

“The cowboy you left in the hands of the police is the bodyguard. You can trust him to bring you to me, but don’t give him the diskette.”

“Suppose he takes it away from me?”

“He won’t. I’ve warned him not to upset you any more than he already has. Now, tell me exactly where you are and then stay put until Cody Gannon shows up. He’ll bring you to me.”

Her voice trembled as she gave her location. Cody Gannon was the last man she wanted to see, but she ended the connection, slipped the phone back into her handbag and waited. The minutes dragged on, and with each one she wished she was back in D.C. in her cozy apartment.

Just her and her baby-to-be. Footsteps sounded around her. She didn’t bother turning around. Cody Gannon would not be glad to see her.

“Waiting for someone, lady?”

The voice was coarse and harsh, not Cody Gannon’s. She spun around just as the man’s briefcase collided with the side of her head. Her feet slipped and she stumbled awkwardly as her purse was ripped from her arms. She tried to scream, but the man slapped her hard across the face.

Her ears rang and blood spurted from her nose and dripped onto her lips. She tried to brush it away with the back of her hand, but the man grabbed her and pinned her against him, holding his large, meaty hand over her mouth.

He threw her handbag to the hood and ravaged it with his free hand, tossing the contents to the floor. Her cell phone cracked, the pieces went flying into the air and under the minivan. “If you like living, lady, hand over the disk.”

She’d be glad to, only her fingers wouldn’t move and she was seeing two and sometimes three of everything. So she spit into one of the man’s faces and let the hot, suffocating blackness consume her as she slumped to the concrete floor.




Chapter Two


Cody raced across the busy street and ducked inside the doors of the parking garage. Dan had chewed him out good for letting Sarah outsmart him, but his stinging comments hadn’t been nearly as caustic as the ones Cody had hurled at himself.

He’d had a hell of a time convincing the cop that he and Sarah had just had a lover’s quarrel and that causing the scene was her way of getting back at him. He doubted the cop believed him, but he’d released him anyway, thanks to the testimony of a middle-aged woman who claimed to have witnessed the whole show.

When he found Sarah, he would tell her how the cow ate the cabbage and he wouldn’t mince words doing it. He was delivering her to Austin if he had to handcuff her and tie her to the truck. Pregnant or not, she was a little spitfire, and he’d have no choice but to treat her like one.

He rushed past a man carrying a briefcase in one hand and an overstuffed duffel in the other as he made his way to the back of the parking garage. Someone’s alarm went off. He barely noticed. Dan had said Sarah would be waiting for him near the left back corner, behind a minivan. This was the first time Cody realized how many people drove minivans.

“Sarah.” He said her name, too softly to attract any undue attention, but loudly enough she could hear him if she were within a few yards. There was no answer. He kept walking. He was almost to the back corner now, and there was no one around. Nothing but parked cars and exhaust fumes wafting on the humid air.

And a moan.

Anxiety and a burst of adrenaline answered. He called her name again and tried to follow the direction of the sound. A large man in a dark shirt and jeans dashed from between a car and a white minivan, then disappeared behind a Land Cruiser.

Cody’s first instinct was to take off after the guy, but his job was finding the woman. He sprinted the last few feet, reaching the minivan in record time. And there he found Sarah Rand, on the floor, her back slumped against the fender.

The sight ground like raw hamburger in his stomach. Her hot pink suit was sprayed with blood that dripped from her red nose. Her eyes were open, but glazed and unfocused. The contents of her purse were scattered around her. And a knot was rising on the side of her head.

The anger he’d felt toward her a minute ago was swallowed by a wave of compassion that overrode his determination to treat her as the criminal she was. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a thankfully clean handkerchief and held it to her nose to catch the drops of crimson blood. “What happened?”

“Like you care.”

“If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t have asked. Besides, I’m getting paid to care.”

“Some brute was trying to steal the disk. He sneaked up on me and hit me in the head. When I tried to fight him off he slapped me in the face and almost knocked my lights out.”

Dropping to his knees, he brushed stray locks of hair from her face. “Are you all right?”

“Is my head still attached?”

“It’s still there.” As gingerly as he could, he touched his fingertips to the knot just above her right ear. “In fact it looks as if you’re growing another one.”

“And both of them hurt.” She put her weight on her hands and pushed against the van, helping herself to a standing position. She staggered, and he stepped in to steady her.

“I think you should see a doctor,” he said, holding her unsteady body against his.

“Not for a knot on the head.”

“You could have a concussion.”

“I could have, but I don’t. I’m a little disoriented, but my vision is okay now. And I’m not nauseous.”

“I still think you should see a doctor. We can stop in at an emergency room. Hopefully, we can make up some story that won’t require alerting the police.”

“I told you I’m fine.” She touched her hand to the swell beneath her dress. “Nothing important hurts. But, believe me, if I start having pains in my stomach, I’ll let you know. I won’t take chances with my baby.”

“No use taking chances with a concussion either.”

“If I develop the symptoms of a concussion, I’ll seek medical help. Trust me.”

Trust her? Not in this life, not with the credentials she carried. Still, he planned to deliver her alive and in reasonably good condition. “How do you know so much about the symptoms of concussions? Do you make a habit of getting attacked by strangers?”

“My mother was a nurse, a very good one. She practically ran the hospital where she worked. She taught me all about first aid for trauma.”

Yeah, well, Cody had learned a lot about first aid from his mother, too. Only she hadn’t been a nurse. She’d been a victim—a lot more times than he cared to think about. He waited until Sarah was steady on her feet before he asked the big question. “Did the man who attacked you get the disk?”

She closed her eyes and then opened them slowly, leveling him with a cold stare. “That’s all you people care about. You and Mr. Austin. I’m just a pawn to you.”

“You’re a pawn. I’m a pawn. The brute who hit you over the head is probably a pawn, too. Just not one of ours.”

It was a stupid answer. Sarah Rand wasn’t a pawn to him. She was less than that. She was a traitorous mercenary. So why had he come to her rescue instead of going after the brute?

“He didn’t get the disk,” she said.

Relief settled in Cody’s chest, like a cool breath on a hot day. “Maybe he wasn’t after the disk at all. Maybe he really was a purse snatcher.” He stooped and started picking up the jumble of makeup and papers that had been emptied from her bag.

“No, it was the disk he wanted. He threatened to kill me if I didn’t give it to him.”

“So much for wishing for a simple purse snatching.”

“Simple for you. You’re not the one who took a briefcase to the side of your head.”

Cody scooped up the last of the items and stuffed them into the open handbag. “You wouldn’t have either if you hadn’t pulled that stunt in the airport. We’d have been in my pickup on the way to collect your payoff.”

“A pickup truck?”

“What did you expect? A Rolls?”

“I guess I should be thankful you didn’t ride in on your horse.”

“According to your tote bag, the one you accused me of stealing, that would have suited you just fine.”

“The bag was a gift,” she said. “From someone with a bizarre sense of humor.”

“Imagine you having bizarre friends. But enough friendly chitchat. We need to get on our way. Is it the emergency room or the highway?” Cody asked, scanning the area for any sign of more trouble.

“The highway.” She ran her hands down her skirt, smoothing the wrinkles but avoiding the bloodstains. “I’m almost back to normal now, and I’d like to get this over with as soon as possible.”

“I’m sure you would.” Get it over with and collect one million dollars in cold, hard cash. He picked up her tote bag and grabbed the handle of her luggage. She pulled her coat over her shoulders and walked a few steps before stopping to wait on him.

He watched her to make sure she wasn’t lying about feeling normal. Her nose had quit bleeding, and she was steady on her feet. But she still looked like a little girl playing grown-up in her hot pink maternity clothes.

No matter that he didn’t like her value system, he couldn’t deny that she was attractive, in a girl-next-door sort of way. The look probably served her well, kept anyone from suspecting her of wrongdoing. She was probably the darling of the Washington office where she worked.

But she wouldn’t be able to smile and charm her way out of the trouble she was in now. A trap had been set, and she was following the bait right through the cage door.

Only, apparently Dan wasn’t the only one who knew she had the disk. The guy who’d nearly taken her head off had known it, too. Only how did he know and who was he? Had Calderone outsmarted everyone again? Had he found out what Dan was up to and decided to send one of his own men after the disk?

If so, Dan Austin was in big trouble. They all were.

SARAH STARED out the window. The late afternoon sky was bordered by a band of gold that gilded the rolling hills. Cows, horses, fences, all far different from what she was used to seeing on her morning commute.

She really didn’t mind riding in a pickup truck. In fact, she liked it. She just wasn’t about to admit it to the cocky cowboy behind the wheel.

The same way she hadn’t admitted that she’d bought the tote because she’d always fantasized about falling in love with a cowboy and having him fall right back in love with her. Now she was with a cowboy, and it wasn’t nearly as exciting as she’d imagined. The cowboy in question hadn’t seemed to notice that she was a woman. Still that was probably better than filling her head with lies the way Todd Benson had done.

She settled back in her seat and took a sip of the milk Cody had bought for her when he’d stopped at the convenience store for ice for her injury. Turning her head, she studied the rugged lines of Cody’s profile. He looked intense, as if his mind were a billion miles away from here. And he was much too quiet. It made her nervous.

She squirmed in her seat. “If Dan hasn’t told you where to meet him, how do you know we’re going in the right direction?”

“He said to take Highway 281 north and to stay on it until we hear from him—unless I spot someone following us.”

“You mean like the man who attacked me at the airport.”

He turned her way for a second before returning his gaze to the road. “I hope you’re not doing anything really stupid, like trying to set Dan up.”

“Of course not. What kind of woman do you think I am?”

“How would I know what kind of woman you are? We just met.”

“I’m trying to help. That’s all.”

They settled into a strained silence. Apparently he was still angry that she’d run from him back at the airport, but he could just get over it. They were in this together. They might as well make the most of it. And she hated to ride in silence. Better to ask questions and force him to talk. “Are you married?”

His face twisted into a scowl. “No way.”

“You don’t have to bite my head off. I was just thinking that it must be rough to leave your wife at home when you go off on one of these missions. If you had one.”

“That’s why I don’t. What about you? Why didn’t you marry that Todd guy you were talking about?”

“Todd didn’t want me. Well, actually, he did want me. He didn’t want our child. He thought I should, you know, get rid of it or at least give it up for adoption.”

“But you wanted to keep your baby?”

Wanted. The word was probably accurate, but it seemed so mild compared to the feelings that had come over her from the second the pregnancy test had come back positive. It wasn’t that she was against adoption. She knew there were many wonderful people out there who ached for a baby of their own and couldn’t have one, people who could give the baby a good home.

But the baby growing inside her was wanted by its biological mother. Wanted and needed. And already loved. “There is no way I’m giving up my baby.”

“So Todd just took off and left you stranded?”

“Something like that.”

“He isn’t the first man to walk away and leave an expectant mother to shift for herself. Guess fatherhood puts too much of a damper on some men’s lifestyles.”

Sarah had the strange feeling that Cody was no longer talking about her at all. His tone had taken on an intensity that seemed too personal for conversation between strangers.

But then nothing about their being together was normal.

“Were you in love with Todd?” The question took her by surprise. If he’d asked her three months ago, the answer would have been an unqualified yes. “I thought I was at the time. Now I think I was only in love with being in love. A woman dreams of that all her life. Romance. The perfect man. I mean, songs, poems, movies—they’re all about falling in love.”

“So what changed your mind?”

“I expected to fall apart when he left. I didn’t. The truth was my life got easier with no one around to tell me that I couldn’t do anything on my own. Two years of hearing that constantly and you start to believe it.”

“Wait a minute. Are you saying you dated this guy for two years and then he just walked out of your life because you were pregnant with his baby?”

“Two years and three months to be exact. He counted it up for me when he left, just in case I couldn’t.”

“You must have been a teenager when you started dating him.”

“I’m a lot older than I look, twenty-seven on my next birthday. But Todd was my first serious beau.”

“Looks like waiting around didn’t improve your judgment.”

“I wasn’t exactly waiting around. My life was too busy to think of relationships before that. I worked my way through university, taking night classes until I could earn my degree in business.”

“Didn’t your mother help you pay for your education?”

“My mother?”

“Yeah, you know, your wonderful nurse mother who practically runs the hospital.”

She turned to stare out the window. “She wanted to, but she had quit her job at the hospital by then to do missionary work in Africa.”

“She sounds like quite a woman.”

“She is.”

Cody reached down and checked the beeper at his waist. “Looks like Dan is ready for us. Too bad your cell phone got destroyed in the attack.”

“Don’t you have one?”

“Not anymore.”

“What will you do?”

“Find a pay phone somewhere.”

“Last minute directions. Secret destinations.” She stretched her legs in front of her. “This is awfully intriguing, don’t you think?”

“I never thought of it like that.”

“That’s because you’re a cowboy who’s merely serving as a guide and bodyguard. You don’t have a full understanding or appreciation for the importance of this mission.”

He glanced her way and rolled his eyes. “No, ma’am. I’m just an ignorant cowboy at your service.”

He was making fun of her now. She’d never been able to pull off that sophisticated routine. But, this was exciting, whether Cody Gannon wanted to admit it or not. Living on the edge. Doing something important. She’d waited for this moment all her life. Too bad that Cody was the only one around to see her, and he apparently wasn’t impressed.

And too bad reality reared its ugly head every so often and reminded her what would happen if anything went wrong with this operation. Only nothing would go wrong. Dan Austin was one of the best agents the DPS had ever had.

They drove another ten minutes until they came to a gas station. Cody pulled off and parked near the phone booth. “I’ll only be a minute.” He killed the engine and yanked his keys from the ignition.

“I didn’t plan to leave you,” she said, as he jumped out of the truck, dangling the key ring from his fingers.

“I’m not taking any chances. Not with my truck.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. A not-at-all sophisticated thing to do, but he was way too cocky.

She watched as he deposited his money and punched in the number. His mouth moved, so he was talking to someone, but his scowl indicated he was not happy with the call. After a minute or two, he slammed the receiver into its cradle and climbed back behind the steering wheel.

“Did Dan tell you where we’re supposed to meet him?”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t sound as if you like it.”

“Driving into Mexico with a pregnant woman is not my idea of fun, especially when we’ve spent the last two hours driving in the opposite direction.”

Without warning, her stomach turned inside out. “I didn’t bargain for going into Mexico.”

“You can always back out,” he said.

And if she didn’t know better, she’d think that was what he wanted her to do. But that wouldn’t make sense. He worked for Mr. Austin. “I won’t back out. I always keep my word. But I might pass out if we don’t stop for dinner soon.”

“Then dinner it is. Better to give the devil his due on a full stomach.”

“You know, Cody Gannon, half the time I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”

“Then we should make a good pair, because I don’t have a clue what I’m doing here.”

He swerved out of the parking lot and onto the road. “The rest of the ride may be a little bumpy.”

“Why?”

“Look behind you.”

She did. “I see a highway, passing fence posts, and there’s some horses in that field we just passed.”

“There’s a blue car back there somewhere, too. He’s been with us for the past fifteen miles or so. When I slow down, he slows down.”

“So that’s why we’ve been racing along half the time and crawling the other half? Do you think it’s the man who attacked me at the airport?”

“Whoever it is, I plan to lose him. So make sure your seat belt’s buckled.”

She checked the buckle, excitement dancing along her nerve endings. A cute cowboy, a secret mission, and someone following them. If this were a movie, the action music would start up right now.

THE RESTAURANT where they stopped was little more than a clapboard shell with a roof, but the parking lot was crowded. New and old cars and several pickup trucks jammed into the narrow space in front of the building, and that was always a good sign. Eat where the locals chow down and you can’t go wrong.

Cody opened the door for Sarah and helped her out of the truck. She planted her feet on the cracked asphalt and then reached back for her coat.

“I don’t think you’ll need that.”

“Not for warmth, but if you think I’m going in there sporting bloodstains, you’ve got another think coming.”

“Well, excuuuse me. If I’d known I was dining with a fashion plate, I’d have wiped the dust off my boots. But I can tell you without walking in the door that no one in this place is going to get all bent out of shape over a couple of stains.”

“Nonetheless, I’ll wear my wrap. My mother always says that if you want to be treated like a lady, you should look and act like one.”

“Then I’m glad your mother wasn’t there to watch your performance in the airport.” But still he held her coat while she slid her arms into the sleeves.

Her hair brushed his fingers. The softness of the strands contrasted with the rough texture of the coat, and he jerked his hands away. She might look and act and even feel like a lady, but she wasn’t one. She was just another criminal playing innocent, and he was way too smart to fall for her act.

He opened the door to the restaurant and was greeted by an assault of odors and a sudden attack of homesickness. The peppers, the onions, the smell of freshly baked tortillas. It was like walking into Rosa’s kitchen back at the Smoking Barrel. Only it wasn’t his buddies sitting around the table but a room full of strangers.

A waitress with a tray laden with sizzling fajitas sashayed by them. “Welcome to Carmelita’s,” she said, flashing them a smile. “Sit where you like. I think there’s still some empty tables in the back.”

Sarah made her way through the maze of tables and mismatched chairs without waiting for him. He followed along behind, glancing about the room as he did. The place looked safe enough, mostly families and a few young guys still sporting ranch dust on their faded jeans. A pudgy woman in a flowered dress caught him staring her way and smiled. He smiled back.

All well and good. Not that he expected trouble in here. He’d watched his tail ever since they’d left the gas station, cut through a field and down a deserted road before pulling out on this highway. But the attack back at the airport had him spooked. And the first thing he’d learned from Mitchell Forbes had been to never let his guard down.

He’d made a mistake back at the airport, but he didn’t plan to make any more.

Sarah had already pulled out her own chair and taken a seat by the time he caught up with her. “Didn’t your mother tell you that a lady waits for a man to hold her chair?”

“I’m perfectly capable of doing that for myself.”

“Still, it makes me look bad.”

“I didn’t know you were into playing the gentleman.”

“A real cowboy doesn’t play at being a gentleman. It comes naturally.”

“Do tell. Then I may have to reconsider my opinion of the saying on my tote bag. I’m not used to dining with a gentleman.”

“I take it Todd wasn’t one.”

“He probably was in the beginning. You know how it is after you date the same person for a long time.”

“No, can’t say that I do. Not unless four or five dates qualifies as a long time.”

“Four or five dates? You could do that in a week.”

“Maybe you could. Ranching hours don’t lend themselves to that kind of courting, especially when the ranch is five miles past the end of the world.”

“So why aren’t you out on the edge of nowhere punching cattle tonight, Cody Gannon, instead of taxiing me around?”

The answer was simple enough, but he kept it to himself. He wasn’t punching cattle because he no longer had a job. He didn’t belong on the Smoking Barrel anymore. He didn’t belong anywhere, and even if he had, he wouldn’t be at liberty to discuss it with Sarah.

If she had any idea that he was one of the good guys, that this was a trap, she’d run like a hellion at the first opportunity, maybe even destroy the disk completely. Or worse yet, actually get it to Calderone.

The waitress set a basket of greasy chips and a white crockery bowl of salsa in the center of the table. “Watch that stuff,” she said, tapping a painted fingernail on the edge of the bowl. “It’s hotter than a honeymoon hotel.” She laughed at her own joke and then pulled a pencil and order pad from her apron pocket. “What can I get you folks? Everything on the menu’s good and the bartender makes a great margarita.”

“I’ll take a beer,” Cody said. “Whatever you have on tap, as long as it’s cold. Maybe the lady would like a margarita.”

“Indeed not.” Sarah stared at him as if he’d committed a cardinal sin. “Alcohol is strictly off-limits for pregnant women. Haven’t you read the warnings? They’re posted on the bathroom door of every ladies’ room in the country.”

“Sorry. I don’t spend a lot of time hanging out in ladies’ rooms. But I wasn’t trying to force a drink on you. It was just a suggestion. Drink and eat whatever you like.”

“Are you paying?”

“Sure. Why not?” She was awful tight for a woman who was about to collect more money than he’d probably accumulate in a lifetime. At least she thought she was about to get paid.

Of course, she might be busted, and if she really was hard up for cash, that might explain why she’d sold out to the enemy. An unmarried woman about to have a baby could probably feel pretty desperate if she didn’t have the money for medical expenses and diapers and such.

He listened while Sarah placed her order and then gave the waitress his, surprised to find that he was actually hungry. Rosa had accused him more than once of eating anything that didn’t eat him first, but since he’d left the Smoking Barrel, he’d lost his taste for food. At least working again gave him an appetite even if he didn’t take to the job. It had one pregnant woman too many for his liking.

As soon as the waitress walked away, Sarah dived into the chips, dipping one into the salsa before slipping it between her lips. “I absolutely love Mexican food. Don’t you?”

“I like it well enough.”

Sarah nibbled on another chip. “Actually I love anything hot and spicy. The first three months I was pregnant I got sick every time I ate a bite of food with a little zip to it. It drove me nuts. But now I can eat anything without getting sick. Well, most of the time anyway.”

A few minutes, and a couple of thousand words later, the waitress returned with their food and drinks. He ate and half listened to Sarah’s chatter. If she kept this up all the way to Mexico, he’d have to seriously consider gagging her or at least stuffing cotton in his ears. If they actually went to Mexico. He needed more reason to believe this whole operation was on the up-and-up before he sealed this deal.

“Have you ever been afraid, Cody?”

He looked up and met her gaze, wondering where the question had come from and when her tone had changed from light to deadly serious. “Not lately.”

“But you have been at some time in your life?” Old memories surfaced. He pushed them aside, back into the dead file where he’d buried them long ago. “I imagine everybody’s been scared of something at one time or another.”

“I’m scared now. Excited, but still scared, especially when I stop to think about what would happen if something went wrong.”

Her voice caught, and a protectiveness he didn’t want to acknowledge rattled inside him. “No one’s making you go through with this, Sarah.”

“You have a short memory, Cody. You said you wouldn’t let me out of your sight until you’d delivered me and the disk to Daniel Austin.”

He swallowed hard. He’d made a lot of mistakes in his life, but that’s all they’d been. Mistakes in judgment. He’d never jumped sides, never played on the team that wore the black hats. Yet here he was, aching to give comfort and solace to the enemy.

And all because the bad guy was a woman. A scared, young pregnant woman. “I’m just doing my job, Sarah.”

“I know. I guess we’re all just doing what we have to do. I don’t want to change anything. But, all the same, I’m a little scared.”

Silence grew thick and suffocating between them. He pushed his plate away, his appetite lost to an unexplained regret that had crept into his gut.

A few minutes later, he paid the bill and they left the restaurant, the silence still holding between them. And strange as it seemed, he missed her chatter.

SARAH WINCED, trying to bite back the groan that hung in her throat. She’d bragged about being able to eat anything, but Carmelita’s enchilada platter had proven her wrong. Her chest burned as if she’d swallowed fire, and her stomach was turning itself inside out.

She closed her eyes as a new wave of nausea washed over her. Cody turned his gaze from the road to her. “Is something wrong?”

“Just a little upset stomach. I’ll be fine.”

“You don’t look fine.” Cody reached up and flicked on the inside light, knocking the edge off the grayness of dusk. “You look like you saw a ghost.”

“It’s nothing. I just get pale when I feel queasy.”

“You’re not about to do anything drastic are you? We’re a long way from a hospital.”

“Drastic?”

“You know, like have a baby.”

“No, cowboy. But maybe you better pull over for a minute. I might do something drastic like lose my dinner.”

He pulled over, only now he looked a little pale himself. Obviously he wasn’t used to tending a sick woman. He stopped the truck and jumped out, rushing around the truck to open her door.

“Try to breathe a little fresh air. Maybe that will help.”

She cradled her head in her hands. “Do we have much farther to go?”

“Half the night.”

She groaned.

Cody hunched down beside her. “Look, we don’t have to rush. Daniel’s the one who had us waste time driving in the opposite direction. He can just bide his time until you feel like traveling.”

“Thanks.” His concern surprised her. Todd had hated it when she first started waking up with morning sickness, always finding a reason why he couldn’t stay around, until the morning he’d just walked off for good.

“We can sit here as long as you need to. There’s no rush.”

“It’s all right, Cody. I can make it,” she assured him. “I just needed to stop for a minute. I feel better now.”

“Like hell you do.” He took her hand. “I don’t know much about having a baby, but I know when a woman’s hurting. You need to see a doctor, and I plan to find you one.”

“No. I have something to take.” She unzipped her purse and located the small bottle of antacid tablets. “A couple of these and I’ll be good as new.”

“You had a blow to the head earlier today. Now you’re nauseous. We’re seeing a doctor.”

“Dan won’t like that.”

“That’s just too bad.”

“I have a better idea.”

“We’re not calling your mother in Africa.”

“That wasn’t my idea. I was going to suggest calling my gynecologist in Washington. Dr. Marino knows my history and he knows how my stomach reacts to spicy food. If he thinks I should see a doctor, I’ll follow his advice.”

“Okay, but even if he says you don’t need to see a doctor, I’m finding a place for us to stay tonight. Tomorrow we’ll get up early and drive into Mexico. That makes more sense anyway.”

“Then you’ll have to get two rooms.”

“Why?”

“I can’t sleep with you.”

He dropped her hand. “Nice try, Miss Rand, but you and I are going to be real close tonight. I don’t buy your innocent gambit.”

She shuddered. “What does that mean?”

“That I have no intention of giving you the chance to run out on me like you did at the airport. I’ll be right beside you all night long, but you don’t need to worry about your virtue with me. I’m choosy about who I take to bed.”

She swung her legs back into the truck and folded her hands over her bulging stomach, suddenly aware of how her misshapen body must look to him. She’d have laughed out loud if she didn’t feel so bad.

Still, it would be her first time to spend a night with a cowboy. Maybe there was some kind of charm attached to carrying that tote bag.




Chapter Three


A half hour later Cody turned off the nearly deserted asphalt road and pulled onto a completely deserted dirt one. It was too dark to see anything except sporadic clusters of brush that bordered the road and an occasional stubby tree.

The antacid tablets had eased the stomach discomfort and her head no longer ached from the blow she’d received earlier that day. She was tough, always had been. It was only her petite size that fooled people, but she couldn’t deny that a bed would feel really good about now. They hit a hole, and she grabbed hold of the armrest to keep from falling over onto Cody. “Is this the most desolate place you can find?”

“On short notice.” Apprehension set her stomach rolling again. “You said we were going to look for a place to spend the night. You surely don’t expect to find a motel down this lousy excuse for a road.”

“Not a motel, but the sign back there said there’s a fishing camp down here with rustic cabins.”

“I don’t doubt the rustic part.”

“It won’t be the Holiday Inn, but we shouldn’t have to worry about anyone finding us down here.”

“That sounds as if you think someone is still looking.”

“I haven’t spotted anyone who looked even vaguely suspicious since we left the restaurant, but I don’t take chances unless I have to.”

She put her hand to her mouth, almost catching the end of her fingernail between her teeth before she jerked it away. It was no time to show weakness. “Mr. Austin failed to mention that delivery of the files would be this dangerous.”

“Would it have made a difference?”

She considered the question. “It might have. I wouldn’t have worried about myself so much, but I have my unborn child to consider.”

“Now’s a fine time to think about that.”

His attitude annoyed her. “Don’t you ever take risks, Cody Gannon?”

“All the time.” He nudged his Stetson back a notch, and a sprinkling of dark, wavy hair peeked out from under the edge of the hat. “I just don’t want tonight to be one of them.”

“That makes two of us.”

SARAH LEANED against the doorframe of the small office while Cody registered them as Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter. He paid the bill for one night’s lodging in advance—in cash.

She lost track of the conversation, as the middle-aged woman who’d introduced herself as the owner drawled on, more nosy than she had a right to be. Instead Sarah shuffled through memories, searching for something pleasant to latch on to.

A morning five months ago when she’d stood in Dr. Marino’s office and he’d told her that the test she’d taken at home had been accurate. She was carrying a new life inside her. The events that followed played in her mind, turning sour when she got to the point where she delivered the news to Todd.

“You don’t look so good.”

She jumped at the voice. The woman had walked over to stand beside her. “I ate some spicy food,” Sarah answered, looking away from the woman’s appraising stare. “I took a couple of antacid tablets. I’ll be fine. I just need a bed.”

“Hmmmph. I’d say you need a sight more than that.” The woman’s gaze traveled from Sarah’s swollen nose to the dried bloodstain on the front of her clothes. Then she looked back at Cody, disgust twisting her mouth and narrowing her eyes.

It took Sarah a few seconds to decipher her meaning. The woman believed that Cody had hit her. “This isn’t what it seems,” Sarah assured her and then wondered why she bothered. It was clear from the woman’s patronizing smile that she didn’t believe her.

The woman laid a hand on Sarah’s shoulder. “I’ll be working until nine. If you need anything, just call me.” Her gaze shifted to Cody and then back again. “And you don’t have to put up with anything as long as you’re staying in one of my cabins. I have a night watchman on duty. He’s tough as a wild coyote. Nobody scares him.”

Sarah looked up to find Cody doing his own impression of a big, tough Texan behind the woman’s back. Any other time, she’d have had to laugh. Even now, she managed a smile. “If I need you, or the night watchman, I’ll definitely call.”

The woman stood in the door and watched them as they left the office and walked back to the truck. The cabin she’d assigned them was at the end of the road, set off by itself.

“That’s the first time I’ve been accused of being a wife beater,” Cody said, as he took her elbow and guided her around a rut in the path.

“She didn’t accuse you.”

“Oh, no? If looks could kill, I’d be waiting on morgue pick-up right now.”

“As it is, you better walk a thin, straight line or I’ll have her sic the night watchman on you.”

“She’s probably calling him right now, to put him on alert so he can start flexing his big, tough muscles. Of course, once he finds out its a looker he’s to protect, he might flex a new muscle. Then you’d be wishing you had me back.”

“Or maybe not. I haven’t seen the big, tough watchman yet.” But his comment stayed with her. Cody saw her as attractive. Interesting, especially since most of the time he treated her as if she had something contagious.

The night watchman stepped into the clearing surrounding the office just as they reached the truck. The woman hadn’t lied. The man was big, at least a head taller than Cody with muscles a body builder would have envied. A gun rested in a holster at his waist but it was the chainsaw he held in his hand that sent shivers up Sarah’s spine.

“It’s almost dark. Why would he be chopping down trees this time of night?” she asked.

Cody opened the truck door for her. “He’s probably cutting some logs into firewood.”

“Hmm. Does chainsaw massacre have any meaning for you?”

“It didn’t. It does now.” He touched a hand to her arm. “But don’t worry. You have a cowboy to protect you. You know, so many cowboys, so little time.”

“You against the machismo guard dog. Now I feel so much better.”

SARAH STEPPED inside the cabin. It was one room, with a sink, range, table and four chairs on one end and a bed, chest and upholstered chair on the other. An open door led to a closet-sized bathroom. The mattress was lumpy, narrow, topped with a faded spread and two pillows that had lost their fluff years ago. Still, it had been an extremely long and eventful day, and she couldn’t remember when a bed had looked so inviting.

Cody reached to take her coat from around her shoulders. She held on to it for a second, then relinquished it. If she made too much of a fuss, he’d figure out why she never let it out of her sight.

Cody hung up the coat and then walked over to stand beside her. “Now that we’ve settled for the night, you should give your doctor a call.”

“If it will make you happy. But I’m fine.” She called the after-hours number and left a message for her gynecologist to call her back. Then she slipped out of her shoes and stretched out on the bed. “My mother always said that the best thing for a queasy stomach is to lie very still and think pleasant thoughts.”

“Yeah, well my mother always gave me a cold, wet cloth for my head. We weren’t big on pleasant thoughts around my house.”

He walked away and came back a few moments later with a damp cloth. The bed shifted as he sat down on the edge of it and pressed the thin washcloth against her forehead. She stared up at him, studying his expression. The worry was evident. She wondered if it was really for her.

“Why don’t you crawl under the covers and get comfortable,” he said. “If you need anything, I’ll be right here.”

“That’s the nicest thing you’ve said since you met me at the airport.” She closed her eyes. Actually, promising to be there for her might be the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her, she decided, as she took his suggestion and snuggled between the sheets.

Too bad the emotion stemmed from the fact that he was being paid to deliver her and the disk. Both of them had to be kept safe and sound until they were turned over to Daniel Austin. Then his duties would be fulfilled, and he’d no longer be there if she needed anything.

Neither would anyone else.

CODY PACED the motel room. The air conditioner hadn’t stopped running since they’d come in, nearly an hour ago, but still the air was sultry and suffocating. He hated being cooped up in this one-room cabin, hated more that this operation had gone wrong. Beginning with the moment Sarah Rand had stepped off that airplane—pregnant.

He glanced at her sleeping form, her blond hair all mussed and spreading over the pillow, the rounding of her stomach beneath the sheets. The cloth he’d given her had been tossed aside, the corner of it dangling from the edge of the honey-colored nightstand. He picked it up and carried it into the cubbyhole of a bathroom.

A cold, wet cloth. That was the extent of what he knew about tending an upset stomach. Sarah, on the other hand, appeared to know what to do for every ailment. From bumps on the head to indigestion, she was a walking medical encyclopedia.

Amazingly enough, Dr. Marino had backed her up when he’d called, said that if she was having no further complications, rest was probably the best thing for her. But, if she became sick to her stomach again or developed a lasting headache, she was to see a doctor at once.

A rectangle of fading light found its way through the narrow window at the back of the cabin and caught Sarah in its glow. Cody stared at her for a minute, then swallowed hard. The woman might look all sweet and innocent when she was asleep, but the images were totally deceptive. She was a woman willing to sell out to the devil himself for cold hard cash.

And if ever there was a devil walking around in a man’s body it was Tomaso Calderone. Murdering innocent people came as easily to him as swatting a mosquito did to most folks. Only he seldom did the killing himself. He paraded around his palatial estate wearing designer clothes and partying with a bevy of beautiful women while his paid assassins did whatever it took to keep the drugs rolling into the States and the money rolling into his bank account.

Anything for money. Calderone and Sarah Rand had a lot in common.

The pager at his waist vibrated. He pulled it loose and cradled it in his hand while he checked the number. More bad luck. It was the number to the office phone at the Smoking Barrel.

He crossed the room and stopped at the window. It looked out on the back of the building. A narrow river meandered a few yards away. Beyond that, the land stretched into thorny brush, a few scrubby trees and a line of ever-present barbwire.

Moonlight painted them in shadows and whispers of silver, a magical touch that contradicted the ruggedness of the land. He’d lived in Texas all his life, wandered from one part to the other, found work where he could, staying in one place only until the need to move on would hit again. That had never taken long, not until he’d arrived at the Smoking Barrel.

He exhaled sharply and moved away from the window. The Smoking Barrel was part of his past. It held nothing for him and he had no desire to hear anything Mitchell Forbes had to say. He hoped the man didn’t hold his breath waiting for him to return the page.

Determined and weary, he strode back to the door. He needed to move the truck out of sight, park it beyond the patch of thick brush. His job was to keep Sarah Rand safe until the disk was delivered into Daniel’s hand, and he never quit on a job until it was finished. But once it was, he planned to get as far away from Texas and the Smoking Barrel as he could.

Montana sounded good to him. So did Alaska. Muscles tight and drawn, he opened the door. It creaked and groaned, but Sarah didn’t move a muscle. Just as well. This might be the last night she slept in a bed without bars around it.

The thought burned in his brain and pulverized his will. He wanted to see Calderone brought down more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life, but he hadn’t bargained for this.

“CODY.”

He jumped, his head flying from the back of the chair as he reached for the lamp switch. “What’s wrong?” The grogginess of sleep cracked his voice.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you. I just wondered if you were still here.”

“I’m here.” He pushed up his sleeve and checked his watch. Only eleven-thirty, but it seemed much later. “How are you feeling?”

“Good. I told you all I needed was some rest. Getting out of that bouncing truck didn’t hurt either.” She pushed up on her elbows. The sheet fell from her shoulders, and he realized with a jolt that between the time he’d fallen asleep and now, she’d crawled out of most of her clothes, including her bra. The silky border of her slip dipped low, and her nipples were outlined against the revealing fabric.

She’s not only pregnant with another man’s baby but she’s a rotten mercenary, he reminded himself, hoping his body was listening.

Apparently noticing the direction of his gaze, Sarah grabbed the sheet and pulled it up to her neck. “How well do you know Daniel Austin, Cody?”

“Well enough.”

“That’s a nonstatement if I ever heard one. What did he tell you about me?”

“Not much.” Not that she was pregnant or that she was almost as good at disguises as Dan himself. Her ability to appear innocent was messing with his mind and he knew better. “He said you were bringing some files that he wanted and that I was to make sure you and the disk arrived safely.”

“Why didn’t he meet me at the airport himself?”

“I couldn’t say.”

She sat up straight and stared at him, her pink lips all pouty. “I just don’t get it, Cody. Are you always this curt, or do you just not like me?”

Cody hesitated. Any answer he gave would have to be an out-and-out lie or else give too much away. She had to believe that both he and Austin were working for Calderone now.

“It’s the situation that’s making me edgy,” he finally answered. “Not you.” He walked to the sink for a glass of water. On second thought, he filled two of the glasses with water from the tap. He walked back to the bed and handed one to Sarah.

“Is this a peace offering?” she asked, taking the glass from his hands.

“You could call it that.”

“Then I accept.”

She drank heartily, no sissy sipping. If he’d met her anywhere else but under the present circumstances, he’d have sworn she didn’t possess an ounce of pretense. But then he would have sworn the same about Mitchell Forbes before he found out differently.

“So tell me, Sarah, what do you plan to do once you deliver the disk to Daniel Austin?”

“Go back to work and save all the money I can. I have insurance to pay the hospital and doctor expenses, but I want to stay home for at least six months so that I can bond with my child. I think that’s important, don’t you? I mean those early months are crucial in an infant’s development.”

“I don’t know much about infants,” he admitted. “But it makes sense that a baby would like to have its own mother around while he’s adjusting to the world. I doubt my mother had that option, though, and I grew up just fine.”

“You grew up kind of grouchy,” she corrected him, “with a serious lack of social skills. Anyway, you said he, and I think my baby’s a girl.”

“Is that what your doctor said?”

“No, but I’m good at predicting things. You know, it’s like I see them before they happen. And every time I think of my baby, I picture her dressed in a dainty pink dress with little pink booties and a lacy bonnet. In fact, I’m so sure that I already bought the bonnet.”

Cody turned away. He was seeing things, too, and they stuck in his throat so that he could barely swallow. The image was of Sarah in a prison-gray uniform, her shiny blond hair cut short and stuffed under a cap while she slaved away in a prison laundry. But she must really take him for a fool, talking about saving money when she’d struck a million-dollar deal with Dan.





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