On The Texas Border (14 page)

J
ONAS WANTED A BATH
and clean clothes, but he didn’t go directly home. Instead, he drove to Mick’s Tavern. Business was nil this time of day, and Mick was with a liquor salesman, which Jonas knew was a waste of time. Mick got most of his liquor from Mexico. Jonas went down the street to a café and ordered a meal. Afterward, he walked back to Mick’s.

Mick was wiping down the bar. “Jonas, my boy. It’s good to see you. Did you find Brewster’s daughter?”

Jonas straddled a bar stool. “No, and I need information.”

“I’ll get you a Coke.”

“No.” Jonas stopped him, grabbing his arm. “I want to talk.”

“Okay.” Mick placed his hands on the bar. “What do you want to know?”

“Where can I find Victor Rios?”

“Aw, Jonas,” Mick grumbled, rubbing his hands on his apron. “You don’t want anything to do with that
hombre.
He’s bad.”

“Where can I find him?” Jonas persisted, knowing Mick knew everything about the Mexicans in Hope.

“Why do you want him?”

“Someone paid him to keep us away from Delores Alvarez, and I want to know who that someone is.”

“That Duncan woman still got you all tied up, ain’t she?”

Jonas’s eyes narrowed. “Answer the damn question.”

Mick rubbed a spot on the bar. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Mick, I can take care of myself. Where is Rios?”

“He hangs out on Fifth Street, but you won’t catch him there until early in the morning.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it,” Jonas said, and stood.

“Jonas?”

He glanced at Mick.

“Make sure your back is covered.”

“Don’t worry. I will.” With that, Jonas headed for his truck and his apartment.

After taking a hot shower and putting on clean clothes, he called the mansion. He wanted to know if Brewster was home from the hospital. He was, so Jonas made his way to the big house to have a talk with the man himself.

Maria, the housekeeper, let him in, and he went upstairs to Brewster’s bedroom. He heard Jules and Darby in the family room, but he didn’t bother with them. He tapped on Brewster’s door and went in. Brewster was lying in bed, hooked to an oxygen tank. Edna and a nurse hovered near him.

“This isn’t the time, Jonas,” Edna said, and tried to push him out the door.

But Brewster saw him. “Jonas, come in,” he called.

“He doesn’t need to be upset,” Edna hissed.

“Everybody leave,” Brewster ordered. “I want to talk to Jonas.”

“Now, Simon, you can talk later,” Edna told him.

“Get the hell out of my room,” Brewster shouted, and both women left.

“So you’re back,” Brewster said, when they’d closed the door.

Jonas lifted an eyebrow. “Surprised?”

“No, why should I be?”

Jonas watched him and wondered—as he had so many times—what this man was about. Why was he so hell-bent on hurting people? Why did he have to be so hard?

“Where’s Abigail?” Brewster asked impatiently.

“She’s at home. She’ll be here in the morning.”

“In the morning?” Brewster roared. “Why in the hell isn’t she here now? I want to know if she found my daughter.”

“You have that down perfectly, don’t you?”

Brewster frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“
My daughter.
You make it sound real.”

“She is real, and I want to see Abigail. Get her—now.”

Jonas sat down and crossed his legs. “She’s worn-out from the ordeal we’ve been through, and I’m not bothering her.”

“Ordeal? What ordeal?”

“Does Victor Rios ring a bell?”

“That bastard,” Brewster spit out. “You’d better make damn sure he isn’t on my property.”

Jonas was taken aback. He knew that Brewster hated Rios, but he’d thought they’d reached some sort of truce that would benefit them both. From Brewster’s response, it seemed that wasn’t the case.

Jonas uncrossed his legs and rested his elbows on his knees. “Someone paid Rios to keep us away from Delores.” He said the words slowly, watching for Brewster’s reaction.

“No!” was all he said, but Jonas could see he was upset. Jonas decided to push further. “Rios hired two unsavory characters to block our every move, and what they had in mind for Abby would chill your blood.”

“Goddammit, you didn’t let them touch her, did you? Jonas, I want to see Abigail.”

Brewster’s breathing was coming in gulps, and Jonas walked to his bedside. Brewster actually cared for Abby. That was a shock. But then, Abby had a way of working her way into a man’s heart. Jonas knew that for a fact.

He started to get the nurse.

Brewster stopped him. “I’m fine,” he mumbled, then asked, “Is Abigail okay?”

At the sincerity in his voice, Jonas knew Brewster had had nothing to do with paying Rios. Then who? Who would do such a thing?

“Abby’s fine,” he finally answered. “She’ll talk to you later.”

“You find out who hired Rios.”

“I intend to, and I’ll start with Jules and Darby.”

Brewster shook his head. “No, it’s not them.”

Jonas’s eyes narrowed. “You seem very certain about that.”

“I am,” he said. “The sheriff came by the hospital. He found some prints on the file room door and on Abigail’s car.”

“And who did the prints belong to?”

Brewster brushed it off. “It doesn’t matter. It’s been taken care of.”

“By whom?” Jonas asked in a guarded tone.

“By me, dammit, Jonas. Leave it alone.”

“Like hell I will,” Jonas exploded. “It
was
Jules and Darby, wasn’t it.” That made sense to Jonas. They were the only ones whom Brewster would protect.

Brewster didn’t deny it. “They just got a little nervous about their inheritance. I put the fear of God into them, and they won’t try anything else. I threatened to disinherit them if they didn’t tell me the whole story. They just wanted to scare Abigail to keep her from going to Mexico. They didn’t mention Rios, and they know better than to lie to me. So it’s not them. It has to be someone else.”

“And that’s it?” Jonas asked in a barely controlled voice. “The sheriff’s not going to arrest them or anything?”

“What good would that do? You can’t arrest someone for being stupid.”

Instead of telling Jonas or Abby about the prints, Sheriff Fisher had told Brewster. Jonas knew why. The sheriff took orders from Brewster, and Brewster had ordered him to back off.

Jonas glared at the man in the bed. “Do you know what Abby was like when I found her in that locked room? She was trembling and couldn’t breathe and bathed in her own sweat. If I hadn’t found her when I did, she might have died. That may not mean anything to you, but it does to me.”

“They will pay.” Brewster said threateningly. “Believe me, they will pay.”

Jonas’s anger cooled at the ominous tone. The future did not bode well for Jules and Darby.

“Did Abigail find Delores?” Brewster asked into the silence.

Jonas thought for a minute, then decided it was Abby’s place to answer. He wouldn’t steal the moment from her. “You’ll have to ask Abby.”

“Dammit, boy, you’re trying my patience.”

“It’s not the first time.”

A sly smile crossed Brewster’s face. “Yeah, now get back to work. Two days off is more than you deserve.”

Jonas nodded and walked out of the room. The words
more than you deserve
ran through his head. Brewster had made him believe that for years, but now Jonas felt differently…because of Abby. She made him realize that he deserved a hell of a lot more than Brewster’s abuse. He could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, and soon he’d have his freedom.

He saw Edna in the hall flipping through a magazine and decided to talk to her. If Jules and Darby had locked Abby in that room, then Edna had known about it. She had a good reason to make sure they didn’t find Brewster’s daughter. After her sister’s death, she’d hoped Brewster would take an interest in Jules. There was no romantic involvement between Brewster and Edna, but she wanted Jules to take Brewster’s son’s place. That had never happened, but they were Brewster’s relatives, and he put up with them. The same went for Darby, who was a distant cousin also on Brewster’s wife’s side. Brewster had no living blood relatives, so if a daughter showed up, those three stood to lose a lot. But did
Edna know Rios? Actually, she didn’t have to know him. All she had to do was put out the word that she wanted a job done, and he’d show up on her doorstep.

When Edna saw Jonas, she put down the magazine and got to her feet. “I hope you didn’t upset Simon with this daughter nonsense.”

“What are you going to do if there really is a daughter?”

“There isn’t,” she snapped. “He’s just delusional in his old age. But don’t worry—I’ll be here to take care of Simon.”

“And his money.”

She bristled. “How dare you talk to me like that.”

“Who do you think you’re fooling, Edna?” Jonas said curtly. “If Brewster didn’t have money, you wouldn’t even be here. You’ve been trying to get him to turn things over to you and Jules for a long time.”

She patted her hair. “We’re his relatives.”

“That’s a fact,” Jonas conceded, and stared directly at her. “If I find out you had anything to do with Victor Rios, Brewster will disinherit you in a heartbeat.”

Her cheeks flushed. “What are you talking about?”

“Victor Rios, Edna,” he emphasized. “If you know him, you’d better start covering your tracks.”

“You’re talking crazy, and I’m not listening to any more of it.”

“Heed my warning, Edna,” he said, as she walked past him.

She shot him a piercing glance and disappeared into Brewster’s room.

Now for Jules and Darby. He could still hear their
voices in the family room. Jonas had a surprise in store for them. He went into the kitchen and found Maria.

“Maria, do you have the keys to that closet in the downstairs hall?”

“
Sì,
Mr. Jonas.”

“How many do you have?”

“Two. Why do you ask?”

Jonas held out his hand. “Let me have them.”

“But, Mr. Jonas I—”

“Don’t worry, I’ll get them back to you.”

“Okay,” she said slowly, then walked to a desk in a corner. She picked up a large key ring, removed two keys and handed them to Jonas.

“Thanks, Maria, and I don’t want you opening that door for any reason. Understand?”

She shrugged. “How can I? I don’t have a key.”

“Good,” Jonas said, and went into the family room.

Jules and Darby were resting on the sofas, drinking beer, eating snacks and watching football on TV.

“Bet you a ten he doesn’t make it,” Jules said.

“Ten?” Darby laughed. “What the hell kind of betting is that? I’ll bet you a hundred he makes this one and the next.”

Darby was the first to see Jonas. “Jonas, my man, did you bring back the long-lost daughter?”

Jules snickered.

“No, afraid not.” Jonas scratched his head. “But I have something I’d like you boys to see.”

Jules turned down the TV. “What?”

“It’s in the hall.” Jonas turned to leave, but neither Jules nor Darby made a move.

“It’ll be worth your while,” Jonas promised.

“Why didn’t you say so?” Darby got to his feet and so did Jules. They followed Jonas to the hall closet. Jonas opened the door.

“What’s in there?” Jules asked.

“Something for both of you.”

When they leaned in, Jonas gave them a push and locked the door behind them. They immediately began to yell and beat on the door.

“How does it feel, boys?” Jonas called. “Get used to it. You’re going to be in there a while.”

“You bastard,” Jules screamed. “Let us out of here.”

“How does it feel to be locked in a small space?” Jonas shouted back.

Maria came running from the kitchen, and Edna charged down the stairs.

“What’s going on?” Edna demanded.

Jonas pocketed the keys. “Your son and Darby will be locked up for a while. When I feel like it, I’ll let them out. It will give you and them some time to think about what you did to Abby.”

Jonas strolled past her to the front door.

“Come back, Jonas Parker,” she shouted after him. “You can’t leave them in there. Simon will fire you. Come back here.”

Jonas drew a deep breath and went to his office. He had to take care of business, but a smile kept threatening his composure. He’d go back soon and let them out. Maybe they’d think twice before doing something like that again.

T
WO HOURS LATER
—after Jonas and Stuart had gone over everything that had happened at Brewster Farms while he was gone—Jonas returned to the house and
let Jules and Darby out of the closet. Edna was wringing her hands. When Jonas opened the door, they fell out coughing, cursing and breathing heavily.

“How could you?” Edna screamed at Jonas as she embraced Jules.

“The same way you locked Abby in that room,” Jonas said. “It’s not a good feeling, is it.”

“Uncle Simon will fire you for this,” Jules choked out.

“As soon as he does, I’ll be outta here faster than you can say
slash my tires.
” With that, Jonas turned on his heel and left.

“You smart-ass,” Darby yelled after him.

It was after six by the time he got to his apartment. He lay on the sofa and stretched out. Damn, he was dog-tired. He noticed something on the coffee table and reached for it. It was Abby’s clip. He’d forgotten to give it back to her. He rubbed it gently with his thumb and he could almost see the light in her eyes and hear the warmth in her voice. He closed his eyes as he let her presence wash over him. He had never dreamed he could care for someone so much. His eyes flew open. Care? Was that what he felt? Or did he just desire her? Could it possibly be the
L
word?

It was a tragic thing when a grown man couldn’t even identify his own emotions. But somewhere between the little boy who had never known love and the adult who was afraid to love hovered an unfamiliar emotion.
Was
it love? He really wasn’t sure.

All he knew was that he cared for her, wanted to protect her and longed to be with her in the worst way. He stared at the phone and resisted the urge to call her. She was exhausted and probably asleep; he wouldn’t disturb her. His body ached for her, but the
thought that they’d be together tomorrow night made the ache less intense.