Look Before You Jump (25 page)

I stared over his head into Zeke eyes. He
offered a barely discernable nod in return.

“I don’t understand,” I said to Ambassador
Juarez. “Why kill Amy? She had nothing to do with the…family
business.”

Okay, I may be a little scatterbrained after
the head trauma, but I’m not stupid. I wasn’t about to accuse the
man standing in front of me of involvement in a less-than-reputable
international enterprise.

“I’ve spent a lifetime distancing myself from
the family trade. I took great pains to hide my daughter’s
existence and keep our contact confidential. But someone in my
family discovered my secret and used her to force my involvement.
What with my political ties and all…” Juarez drifted off.

Did the discovery happen to coincide with
Bobby and Amy’s mission activities in Central America? If so,
how?

“Who tipped them off?” I asked.

Juarez’s eyes hardened into obsidian disks.
“That is what I intend to find out. Without Amy, my family now has
no leverage against me. I plan to turn state’s evidence against
them to shut down the cartel that has destroyed not only so many
other families, but my own as well.”

I was speechless for once in my life. And
this time it actually went on for some moments.

The ambassador offered a sad smile. “Now not
only Ranger Taylor knows my intentions, but you also. I trust you
will guard that knowledge?”

“I will, Mr. Ambassador,” I promised, finally
finding my voice again. “And thank you for sharing with me about
Amy. She was a joy to know.”

If only I’d gotten a chance to truly know
her.

“If you ever have need of my assistance, you
have but to call my direct line as my daughter did.” He slipped a
card from his wallet and handed it to me before touching my cheek.
“I can see why she liked you.”

Ambassador Juarez then swept from the hallway
and returned between the double doors to the awaiting party. I just
stared at the wood as they closed. So many questions I wanted to
ask burbled through my brain – but at least I had a little better
understanding of why Amy had died. Then a realization crept over me
like a crawling spider. For all Amy’s talk of openness in her
marriage with Bobby, it seems she’d kept at least one secret from
him.

Her knowledge of and contact with her
father.

But it made sense in a way, especially
considering how much the senior Vernets already despised Amy. I’d
heard firsthand how much. If Dennis and Mary Jo knew this, they’d
probably both have side-by-side coronaries. Now that would be a
moment I’d pay good money to see.

Sorry, Bobby. I guess even in an open and
honest marriage, there are still some things best left unspoken.
With that knowledge, it didn’t make me think any less of Amy.
Actually, I respected her more for it. Her desire to conceal the
relationship with her father was in order to protect it – a visible
representation of the command to
honor thy father
.

Now me? Okay, you can stop laughing. It’d
take more than – than – can I get back to you on what it would take
to honor my father after all the crap he’s put me through over the
years?

Zeke’s arm draped across my shoulders and
ceased my musings. “Just thought you might want to know.”

I swiped my eyes – and then remembered the
make-up covering the bruises. “Thanks, Zeke. I really appreciate
you arranging this.”

“So I guess you owe me now,” Zeke said with a
nuzzle to my ear.

“I don’t think so,” I corrected, trying not
to let my legs give out from underneath me. “There’s still the
matter of two dollars and seventy cents you haven’t reimbursed me
for from getting Amy’s records.”

He sighed. “I don’t carry small change on
duty. Too much jingling.”

“Then I guess
you
still owe
me
.”

Zeke gave me a devilish grin, kissed the top
of my head then pulled me back into the crowded ballroom. “We
always did make a good team.”

Team? Uh-oh. That hit my intimacy radar
faster than a politician denying his latest scandal. Faster than a
defensive end rushing the quarterback. Harder than the ‘b’ in
boyfriend.

Gee, do you think I’ll ever get over my
commitment issues?

Don’t answer that.

Sometimes life emulates fiction.

Life is filled with tragedy and Ms. Bale's
writing reflects this reality. However, there is always a silver
lining...even if one must spend their entire life searching for
it.

In her previous career, Ms. Bale traveled the
United States as a Government Relations Liaison, working closely
with Congressional offices and various government agencies. This
experience afforded her a glimpse into the sometimes "not so
pretty" reality of the political sphere. Much of this reality and
various locations throughout her travels make it into her
writing.

She dreams of the day she can return to visit
Alaska.

Connect with her online

Facebook:
D-A-Bale

Twitter:
@DABale1

Blog:
DA Bale
Publishing

Email:
[email protected]

Additional Works by D A Bale

The Bartender Babe Chronicles:

Look Before You Jump

Think Before You
Speak
pre-order release June 2016

Knock Before You Enter coming Fall 2016

The Deepest Darkness Series:

Running into the
Darkness

Piercing the
Darkness

Rising from the
Darkness

The Study
,
a novelette