Most Eligible Spy (13 page)

He let her go. “I need to grab something from the bedroom.” His voice sounded a little rough as he said the words.

She straightened her clothing as he walked away. Then, needing something to do, she went back to her notebook and stuffed it into her purse.

Mo was coming back already. “What’s that?”

She glanced at the notebook that stuck out of her bag. “I’m making a list of the people I’ll need to contact to get Dylan’s name cleared. I want something publicly said. In the paper.”

“Molly—”

“No.” She held up a hand. She didn’t want him to say anything bad about her brother right now. She couldn’t handle it, not after what they’d just shared, what they had almost done.

Something they shouldn’t have done, really. It wasn’t as if they were a couple or anything, or as if he even believed her about Dylan.

“Can we—” She glanced toward the counter. “Could we please just forget that this happened?”

His answer was a long time coming. But then he said, “Sure.”

She didn’t dare look up into his face.

The elevator ride down was awkward, the car ride to the ranch spent in silence. She ran from him the second she slipped out of the car, keeping away from him as she did her chores, pretty much the way she had the night before.

He knew what needed to be done at this stage, so he helped without asking anything, without following her, for which she was grateful. She needed time to recover.

When they were done, she went inside to clean up and water her plants. He was waiting for her in his car when she came out.

She slid into the passenger seat. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

“We’re doing everything we can to figure out what’s going on so you can return home,” he said, back in his official persona, his tone impersonal.

He drove down the driveway and turned right instead of turning left, toward Hullett. Maybe he wanted to drive around her land. She wasn’t about to complain. It wasn’t as if she needed to be anywhere in a hurry.

She leaned back in her seat, more than a little sleepy. She’d had a restless night. As luxurious as her room was, she wasn’t used to sleeping in a strange bed.

She was up half the night, walking around. And once she stopped being blinded by all that opulence, she realized how sterile it all seemed. Just a hotel suite, really.

Not one personal item graced the living room, nothing that said warmth or family. No pictures, no memories, no favorite mug with #1 Uncle on it or anything like that. Everything was decorated in just the standard white the hotel provided. All the luxuries didn’t make the place a home. In some sense, she had so much more out at the ranch than he had in his big fancy hotel.

She was so lost in her thoughts she wasn’t paying any attention to where he was driving, so she was surprised when they pulled over in front of an old cabin. “Where are we?”

But he was already getting out.

She followed him to the cabin and then inside. “What’s this?”

“We’re on the Cordero ranch. This is the cabin where Dylan shot and killed four of his accomplices.”

Denial sprung to her lips, but died there as she spotted the rust-colored stains on the floor—blood that had seeped into the floorboards. Her stomach rolled. One by one, she noticed the holes where bullets had been pried out of the logs, probably by Mo’s team.

“It can’t—” Her voice broke.

“It happened. You need to somehow be able to accept that.”

“You don’t know—”

“I was here. I helped clean up the bodies.”

“You were only here after,” she whispered. “You don’t know what happened.”

“Grace Cordero was here during the shooting. Are you saying she’s an unreliable witness?”

Grace.

The truth came crashing down on her so hard she couldn’t breathe. The carnage here...the bloodbath...and Grace had been in the middle of it. She could have been killed.

Molly turned and ran outside, ran behind Mo’s car then fell to her knees and gave back her breakfast.

She heard his car door open and close, then he was there, gently helping her up, handing her a bottle of water.

“Just because Dylan did something bad here, it doesn’t reflect on you or Logan,” he said.

She couldn’t talk. She rinsed her mouth, then walked to the passenger side and got in. She felt as if she’d just eaten poison.

He took his seat, too, and watched her with concern. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought you here.”

“No.” She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the headrest, couldn’t bear looking at the cabin. “The truth is always good, even if it hurts.”

He started the car and drove away.

Minutes passed before she could open her eyes. She still couldn’t look at him. She was so hurt and so ashamed.

Oh, Dylan, what have you done?

How had she not known that her brother had gotten involved in smuggling? If they’d talked more, if she’d asked more questions...

“I can’t tell Logan,” she said at last, horror filling her at the thought. Logan would be devastated.

“Then don’t.”

“I don’t want to lie to him, either. At some point he will have to face the truth, too.” That was the right way to go, not her denial. Mo had been right to take her to the cabin, even if it was ripping her apart right now.

“He’ll have to accept this, yes, but it doesn’t have to happen when he’s eight years old. You can give him some of the truth. I don’t think details would be necessary at this stage.”

She nodded, feeling numb. “What will he think? I don’t want him to feel bad about himself because of this.”

“Just keep telling him you love him.” He paused. Cleared his throat. “When I first found out about being dumped by my parents...” He shook his head. “They tried to drown their own kid. What the hell kind of person does that? And those are my genes. I think I went into the armed forces right out of high school because I wanted to be under close supervision, in case somehow the ‘evil’ broke out.”

She turned to stare at him. “There’s nothing evil about you. You’re not your parents.”

He held on to the wheel with one hand and took her hand with the other, gave a gentle squeeze. “And you’re not your brother. And neither is Logan.”

She looked away. “I can’t talk to you about this.”

* * *

T
EARS
BRIMMED
IN
HER
EYES
,
the first one spilling over, rolling down her face. He felt like a jerk. She needed comfort, but he had no idea how to give it to her, not when she didn’t want anything to do with him at the moment.

Mo couldn’t blame her. He’d brought her here. He’d brought her this pain. And yet, being pushed away both frustrated and hurt him.

His phone rang. He glanced at it. Jamie. He had to take the call.

“There’s movement on the border. The rest of the team is there. I’m heading out right now. Multiple breaches at multiple points.” He gave GPS coordinates.

“I’ll be right there.”

“Try to avoid Ryder. The Chinese guy you got the other night, Yo Tee, he’s the real deal. Big-money business guy. Lawyers filed a complaint and everything. Ryder isn’t happy. Way to go not bringing attention to the op.”

“He looked suspicious.”

“Everyone who comes within a mile of Molly Rogers seems suspicious to you these days.”

Maybe Jamie was right. Maybe he was losing his objectivity. He wasn’t sure there was anything he could do about it. Molly was becoming more and more important to him. “I’ll see you in a bit,” he said, then ended the call, not feeling like making explanations to Jamie.

“Just take me back to the ranch.” Molly still wouldn’t look at him.

“You’re not going to hang out at your place alone.” He turned the car and sped down the dirt road that led to the Cordero ranch.

He might not have been able to help Molly right now, but he knew who could. And he would make sure she was in good hands before he left her. He hoped Grace Cordero was home.

Chapter Nine

Tension tightened Molly’s
shoulders as Mo pulled up in front of Grace’s place.

“I think you should talk to her,” he said. “But it’s your choice.” He waited.

Then Skipper came running, and for a moment she forgot about everything else and jumped from the car, caught the dog up into her arms. The unconditional love and support felt incredibly good.

She scratched behind the dog’s ear before giving her another big hug and a kiss.

The front door of the house creaked open.

“Hey.” Grace stepped outside. “I was just about to call you. She can go home whenever you’re ready.”

“I have to go,” Mo told them from behind the wheel. “Can you take Molly back to the hotel when she’s ready?”

As soon as Grace nodded, he drove away, with one last look at Molly, conflicting emotions darkening his face.

Grace tilted her head. “What’s going on? What hotel is he talking about?”

Molly stood, but kept her hand on the dog’s head. “I’m...Logan and I are not at the ranch right now. We’re in Hullett.”

“Everything okay?”

She hesitated. She had so much to say. And she didn’t know where to start.

“Why don’t we go inside?” Grace suggested. “How about a cold drink?”

She was being nice, a good hostess, but there was a wariness in her tone. Molly couldn’t blame her.

She followed Grace inside and sat at the kitchen table, hugged Skipper. The dog stuck to her like glue.

Twinkie, a stray cat Grace had rescued a few weeks back, sauntered in from the direction of the laundry room.

“I hope Skipper was okay with Twinkie and the kittens.” Grace had adopted a boxful of barn kittens, too, from a nearby ranch when their mother had disappeared.

“Very gentle.” Grace poured two glasses of lemonade then set the pitcher between them.

And then they were out of neutral topics of conversation.

Molly drew a deep breath. “We need to talk about Dylan.”

Grace’s face grew somber as she pulled back a little. She probably expected an argument.

Molly folded her hands on her lap, not sure how to start. “I’m sorry.” She was, and it had to be said.

“You haven’t done anything.” Absolution came quickly and without hesitation.

Her eyes burned. “Mo took me out to the cabin.” A tear spilled over. Pain filled her chest. “Dylan... I don’t understand. How could he? He was a good brother. He really was. He loved Logan.” Another tear broke loose. “How can he have had this monster inside him? How did I not know this?”

“None of it was your fault.” Grace came around the table and folded her into a group hug with Skipper, who’d jumped up on Molly to lick her face, needing to be in the middle of everything, as usual.

Molly hugged them back as warmth spread inside her chest. “Can you ever forgive me? I’m so glad you didn’t get hurt. I’m so sorry, Grace. We were like sisters back in high school.”

“We’re still sisters.” Grace smiled as she returned to her chair.

Molly blew her nose and dried her face. “Sorry,” she said again, unable to think of anything else to say. The vivid image of the blood-splattered cabin loomed large in her head. “You should have never had to go through something like that.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. Mo shouldn’t have taken you to the cabin. You really didn’t need to see that place.”

Protectiveness instead of blame. They’d been best friends once. Was it possible that the damage wasn’t irreparable?

“He was right. I needed to face the truth. Denial is not healthy.”

Grace nodded slowly. “How is Logan?”

“Getting into fights at school.” She shook her head. “Mo is... He’s teaching him how to stand up for himself, how to avoid violence and how to defend himself if he can’t avoid it.”

“So Mo is spending a lot of time with you two?” A glint of interest came into Grace’s eyes. “He used to scare me. He’s so big and rough-looking. But I’m pretty sure he’s a gentle giant. He came to Tommy’s funeral. All of Ryder’s friends did.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t.” The funeral had been right after Dylan’s death when she’d been drowning in grief, blaming everyone around her.

“I shouldn’t have brought that up. I didn’t mean it as a reproach.” Grace winced. “You had a lot to deal with. We both lost brothers we love. I understand.”

Except Grace had lost a brother who was a war hero, while Molly had lost a brother who was apparently the town villain. She pushed the bitterness back, determined not to let it get a toehold. “Yes,” she agreed.

“I’m glad Mo is spending time with Logan. Whatever else Dylan did, he was a good uncle.”

Tears burned Molly’s eyes all over again. “Thank you for understanding that.”

Grace tilted her head. “So what’s this with Mo? I thought you were dating Kenny.”

“Temporary insanity.” She bit her lip. “We are kind of living at Mo’s place.”

A smile teased Grace’s lips. “You want to tell me something?”

Definitely not that little incident on the kitchen counter. She felt herself flush. The way she’d just abandoned all sense... Not like her at all. Thank goodness she was sane now. Nothing like that was going to happen between her and Mo again.

“He’s very helpful,” she said.

Grace raised an eyebrow. “I’ll bet.” Then her mouth curved into a smile. “Have you seen the rest of his team?”

“Some of them.”

She fanned herself with her hand. “Lord have mercy.”

And then they giggled like two schoolgirls, just like back in the good old days, their friendship mending.

That mended link went a long way toward her feeling better, Molly thought on her way back to the hotel with Grace. Just the two of them. Grace agreed to keep Skipper a little longer. Three dogs in the presidential suite might have been a little too much for hotel management.

“I need to pick up something at the strip mall for Ryder’s birthday,” Grace said. “Do you mind if we stop in?”

Molly shook her head. She wasn’t in a hurry. “What is he getting?”

“Lingerie.” Grace grinned.

Molly grinned back. And then it was like two best friends out on the town, and it felt amazing.

So while Grace shopped, Molly picked up a personalized coffee mug made for Mo with his name on it and a super-muscled arm for the handle. MO COFFEE. She hoped he would get a kick out of that.

She picked him up a pretty country pitcher perfect for sweet tea. She bought ingredients so she could make a few dinners, and some plastic storage containers to freeze single portions so he could have some homemade food now and then. He seemed to enjoy her cooking. She was in the checkout line when she ran back and grabbed everything she needed to bake some cookies, as well.

She started cooking as soon as Grace dropped her off at the hotel. Then when Logan came home from school, they baked up a storm together.

Then waited for Mo.

But Mo never came.

* * *

T
HE
BORDER
OP
was a bust—half a dozen people who were carrying nothing. They were first-timers, looking for work. They confessed as soon as they were apprehended. They’d been told to cross and were shown the right spot for free.

A test.

Whoever was running the smuggling rings wanted to know how closely the border was watched. They sent over some decoys, then probably watched from the other side of the river with binoculars as the decoys were caught.

Mo staked out the ranch again that night, actually slept some on her sofa. He needed to catch up on rest or he’d start making mistakes. Like kissing her in the kitchen.

He’d gotten carried away. She was living at his place. When he’d offered his apartment, he’d meant it to be a sanctuary. She should be able to live there in peace, without being harassed by him because he couldn’t control his lust.

But every time he saw her, he wanted her. So maybe the key was to stay away from her, at least for the time being.

Toward dawn he set up another roadblock. He stopped a couple of cowboys going to work early. They weren’t thrilled with the harassment. He wasn’t thrilled with his lack of progress. He needed a new plan.

He called Jamie. “I’m heading in. Can you drive out here and stick around while Molly takes care of her morning chores?”

Time to get out of here. Even if he did want to see her. Even if he wanted to do way more than just see her. Well, especially because of that.

* * *

S
INCE
THEY
ALL
DROVE
the same model black SUV, Molly couldn’t tell who’d be helping her today until Jamie walked out of the barn as she pulled into her driveway.

She’d been hoping for Mo, wondered why he hadn’t come home last night.

“Is Mo okay?” The words flew from her mouth before she remembered her manners. “Good morning.”

“Good morning. He’s at the office. He was out here all night.”

She wished he’d stuck around, but tried not to show her disappointment.

“Where are we starting today?” Jamie asked.

“I need to do the milking.”

He nodded. “How about if I let out the chickens?”

He was a nice guy, handsome, mild, although that mildness hid plenty of restrained power. He didn’t smile much, or ever, really. There were walls all around him that were nearly palpable. She wondered what had happened to him, but she didn’t dare ask.

Instead, she headed off to get her buckets, then headed to the barn and greeted the cows.

She didn’t mind being at Mo’s place as much as she thought she would, and Logan treated it like a vacation, glued to the video games. He thought the whirlpool tub was great and the fancy electronics still made him go wide-eyed.

But Molly missed her house.

She did her chores and Jamie helped, although she insisted he shouldn’t. He was supposed to be here to make sure she was safe. He could have sat in his air-conditioned car; he didn’t need to be stepping in chicken droppings for her sake. But, of course, he wouldn’t hear of it. Like Mo, he had an inner sense of honor and chivalry.

The cowboy code, some people around here called it. Except none of the men on Mo’s team were cowboys, although some of them had adopted the local dress code of jeans and cowboy boots to fit in better.

Jamie pulled out of the driveway first, Molly right behind him, just stopping to get the mail out of the mailbox. She sat there, the car idling while she went through the stack of envelopes, hoping for no surprise bills. She had Dylan’s mail, too, from the apartment, forwarded here, so she had a handful to go through.

Kenny’s cruiser was coming down the road toward her place. Probably coming to check on his horse.

Jamie rolled his window down, his cell phone pressed to his ear. “Are we good here?”

“If you need to go someplace, go,” she told him. “I’ll be fine here with Kenny.”

She set the organic-heirloom-seed catalogs on the passenger seat as Jamie pulled away. Then came a magazine on sustainable farming. Then a bunch of flyers. A credit-card solicitation. Then something that did look like a bill, from the Hullett Storage Park. She tore open the envelope. Huh. Dylan was renting some storage.

For what? They had plenty of room at the ranch for anything he would have needed to store.

Unless it was something he didn’t want her to know about...

Her head snapped up and she reached for the horn, but Jamie had already disappeared down the road. She drew a deep breath. Might not be anything important, in any case.

Then she caught herself. She had to stop making excuses for Dylan. She had to accept that he was capable of doing wrong. She reached for her purse on the floor to call Mo, but by the time she dug her cell phone out from the bottom, Kenny’s patrol car was pulling up next to her.

He didn’t look like his usual spiffy self. His hair was mussed. Dark circles ringed his eyes. “Everything okay? I’ve been by a couple of times. Your pickup wasn’t here.”

Right. She’d forgotten to tell him. “Mo thought I shouldn’t be out here alone with Logan at night. We’re staying in Hullett.”

His eyebrows slid up his forehead. “I thought Dylan’s apartment wasn’t released yet.”

“Mo rents a place he doesn’t really use. He let us have it.”

“You’re staying with Moses Mann?” Kenny’s forehead pulled together into a scowl.

“Not with him. Just at his place. He only stops in for a change of clothes.”

Kenny’s lips flattened. “Isn’t he a dedicated government employee?” He watched her for a second. “When are they gonna be done with their budget recommendations?”

“I’m not sure. He doesn’t really talk about his job.”

“Bunch of idiot pencil pushers flown in from D.C. Think they can drive around the border for a few weeks, have everything figured out. I’ve lived here all my life, worked here since I got my badge. You’d think CBP would be asking people like me if they needed help.”

She wasn’t sure what exactly Mo was, but she was pretty sure he wasn’t a pencil pusher. The way he moved, the way he was built... All she could think of was the commando soldiers she’d seen in movies.

“They do work pretty hard,” she said, defending the team. They put in some serious hours. They wanted to figure out what was going on at the border, and they gave the task their all. While taking time to protect her. “You look tired,” she said to change the subject.

“Been pulling some double shifts.” Kenny tilted his head. “So this Mo and his super team still blame your brother for everything?”

She closed her eyes for a second. “I— It looks like Dylan might have somehow gotten involved in something he shouldn’t have.” It hurt just saying the words.

“They know that for a fact?” Kenny leaned forward. “They have any idea who he might have been working with?”

“I don’t know. I just...” She lifted the bill on her lap. “Got a bill for a storage unit he was renting in Hullett.”

He stared at the envelope, an unreadable expression on his face. “Could be nothing.” He reached a hand out the open window toward her. “Let me see it.”

She handed the bill over and waited while Kenny scanned the contents then handed the envelope back to her.

“You shouldn’t go out there. Don’t put your fingerprints on anything. Moses Mann and those yahoos are desperate to pin all their problems on someone. Make sure it’s not you. You don’t want them to take you in for another interrogation.”