The Millionaire Cowboy's Secret (12 page)

“I could have made arrangements—”

“No.” Matt held up his hand, impatient. “Come on, bro. We’ve talked this to death already. It’s too damn dangerous. Plus, I want him to know why he’s being killed. If I took him out at a distance, he’d never know.”

“Face-to-face is stupid and more dangerous than going down into Mexico,” José shot back. “You are so obsessed with your vengeance that you can’t think clearly.”

“Enough!” Matt growled. Inhaling deeply, he gathered his shredded calm around him like a cloak. “José, I know I’ve offered this before and you’ve refused, but if you want out, you can go with my blessings.”

José looked away, a muscle working in his jaw. “It’s just that I’m worried about you,” he finally ground out. “Neither of these plans is ideal, but I want to minimize your risk.”

“Me, too,” Matt lied. The one thing he always made sure of was that his best friend didn’t know the truth. All Matt lived for was the vengeance. Once Diego Rodriguez was dead, Matt didn’t really care what happened to himself.

“You know,” José pointed out, his voice studiously casual, “if she decides to go along with our plan, Skylar will blame herself if anything happens to you.”

“That’s possible,” Matt said. “But nothing will.”

“Still...”

“She’ll get over it.” Again Matt had to clamp down on his irritation. “We’ve only known each other a week. She’s a strong woman.”

“For a reason.”

Matt stared. “What do you mean?”

“Wait a second.” Turning, José began rummaging in a small stack of folders. “Here we go.” He extracted a copy of what looked like a newspaper article and handed it to Matt. “I did some research. I found this on the internet.”

Dated five years earlier, the story talked about the vicious gunning down of several people in a Dallas bank robbery.

Reading it, at first Matt didn’t see what this had to do with anything. Then he saw the last line.

Among the victims were Robbie and Bryan McLain, the husband and seven-year-old son of Dallas police officer Skylar McLain.

He looked up. José watched him expectantly.

“Her family?” he asked, although he already knew the answer.

“Yeah. I kind of imagine she blames herself.”
Like you.
José didn’t say the last two words. He didn’t have to.

“Why would she do that?” With a sinking heart, Matt hoped his friend wasn’t right. “It was a random, senseless shooting in a bank robbery gone wrong. There’s no way she could have prevented that.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Just like there’s no—”

“Stop.” Matt held up his hand. “Don’t even go there. I’ll always believe I could have prevented my family’s murder if I’d been there. Nothing you can say will change my mind. You should know that by now.”

Slowly, José shook his head. “What if she’s like you, amigo? This Skylar McLain also lost her entire family. You don’t know whether or not she blames herself.”

“Why does it matter?”

José turned away. “Listen to you. Since when do you not give a damn about hurting innocents? You already think you have to carry the world on your conscience. How are you gonna feel if she thinks she’s responsible?”

Clinging to the last tatters of his patience, Matt glared at his friend. “Responsible for what?”

“If all of this implodes on you. People could get hurt or worse, killed. Have you considered that?”

That did it. “The only one getting killed is Diego Rodriguez,” Matt said, his tone pitched to let José know he was finished with the discussion.

But as usual, his friend had to have the last word. “I guess you figure anyone else is collateral damage, huh?” he asked before walking out of the room.

* * *

Back in the camper, Skylar picked up her cell phone and stared at it as if its blank screen held the secrets to the universe. She placed it back on the kitchen table and grabbed Talia’s ball. She needed to do something else so she could clear her head.

As usual, her border collie was up for the game. Skylar threw, and Talia leaped and twirled and caught, returning to drop the ball at Skylar’s feet.

Finally, when she thought her pet had gotten a good workout, Skylar whistled and they went back inside the trailer. While Talia slurped water from her bowl, Skylar took a deep breath and picked up her phone.

Could she do this? More important, did she want to?

Stomach churning, she scrolled through her contacts and pulled up the number. Punching Call before she talked herself out of it, she spoke in a low voice to the—thank goodness—recording. She said she’d learned the location of the ammo but, protecting herself, she hadn’t been able to investigate personally to make sure her information was correct.

Then, taking a deep breath, she said she believed the ammunition had been stored in the cellar of the ruined original ranch house. She would investigate as soon as she could and report back.

When she’d finished, she punched the off button and sat staring at her phone, her heart pounding.

She’d done it. Given the first—and hopefully last—false report of her career. She was now in with Matt and José, 100 percent. For bad or for good.

The only bright spot was the one thing she was achingly certain of. If the Mexican drug cartel showed up trying to break into the cellar, she’d know Matt was right and there truly was a mole inside the ATF. That issue would have to be dealt with, as well.

Otherwise, she’d learn she’d been played for a fool.

Dusting her suddenly sweaty hands off on her jeans, she shoved her phone into her pocket and stood. “Be good, Talia,” she said, scratching her pet behind the ears.

Grimacing as another feeling of misgiving swamped her, she left her camper. She’d go find Matt and tell him what she’d done. And then she’d claim that ride.

Matt was waiting where she’d left him, though José was conspicuously absent. He watched her approach, his face completely devoid of expression.

“Hey,” she said softly, holding his gaze and wondering at the unfamiliar softness she felt inside her. “I did like you wanted. I called it in and said I’d learned the ammunition was stored in the cellar of the abandoned house.”

“Thank you.” He reached out as if to touch her, but at the last minute withdrew, leaving her inexplicably aching.

She spoke quickly, needing to fill the awkward void. “Now, how about that ride?”

Her words seemed to bring him back from whatever dark place he’d gone.

“The ride. Yes. But are you sure you want to do this?” he asked, flashing that lopsided smile that made her chest ache anew. “Remember, the last time we tried to go riding, even though it was separately, we got shot at.”

Wishing she could manage to smile back, she nodded. “We also made love.”

He cocked his head, the heat in his gaze making her entire body flush. “That, too. Once again, are you certain you want to go riding?”

The undercurrents swirling between them had her dizzy. The thought of making love with him again... Her breath caught.

Somehow, despite everything, she’d crossed an invisible line. She couldn’t go back. Hell, she wasn’t even sure she wanted to. Resolutely she raised her chin. “Yes, I’m positive. You said you took necessary precautions, right?”

His grin faded, his expression turning grim. “I’ve got men checking all the ranch perimeters, especially near the farm-to-market road. No one can come onto my property without me knowing about it.”

“And,” she put in casually, “there’s nowhere to hide, right?” Even though his stockpile of ammunition remained hidden, no doubt in plain sight.

“Nope.” He didn’t even hesitate, though he had to know what she was talking about. Giving her a hard look that, oddly enough, made her feel as if she’d disappointed him, he beckoned her to follow and headed out the door.

Side by side, they walked to the barn. At first, each lost in their own thoughts, neither spoke. But when they reached the old barn, he threw open the door and turned to her.

“Your choice,” he said quietly. “Any of the mares in this barn. I have a few geldings, as well. I’ll be riding one of them.”

“Not Saint?”

He shook his head. “Not for this ride. Go ahead, choose.”

Feeling like a child faced with a mound of brightly wrapped packages at Christmas, she slowly moved down the barn’s wide aisle.

Several of the horses looked at her, swishing their tails. A few completely ignored her. Only one crossed to the stall door and poked her head out to greet her.

“This one,” Skylar said, stroking the bay mare’s long, black mane.

Matt nodded with approval. “Good choice. That’s Cinna.” He pointed toward a small room toward the back of the barn. “That’s a makeshift tack room. Grab a saddle and halter and bit.”

For the next several minutes, they worked in companionable silence saddling up their mounts. Matt had chosen a big chestnut gelding. Watching him as he worked, his muscular arms stretching his shirt over his broad shoulders, she felt a little shudder of desire deep inside her.

“Are you ready?” he asked, bringing her out of her sensual daze.

Blinking, she swallowed hard before nodding. Slipping the bit into Cinna’s mouth, she secured the halter before leading the mare down the barn’s wide aisle. The clip-clop of hooves sounded both familiar and alien.

Once outside, she stuck her foot in the stirrup and swung her other leg over the horse’s broad back.

Already astride, Matt gave her an unsmiling nod of approval before he put his heels to his horse’s sides and rode out.

“Come on,” he called back over his shoulder.

With a moment’s hesitation—after all, this was the first time she couldn’t separate her ambivalent personal feelings from the detached professionalism the job required—she rode after him.

“We’re going to take the complete tour,” he told her, gesturing toward his saddlebag. “I had the cook pack us a picnic lunch. This will take almost all day.”

Of course, she’d keep an eye out for anything suspicious, and she knew he had to be aware of this. Ergo, he’d most likely keep her far, far away from his secret stash of ammunition.

Although, really, now that she knew what he had planned, maybe he would even show it to her. Now, that, she thought with a wry grimace, would be something.

Chapter 11

M
att eyed Skylar sitting so comfortably on one of his best mares, cursing himself for not considering how badly he’d have to battle temptation around her.

A kiss hadn’t been enough. And sex, powerful, raw and intimate, had done nothing more than stoke the embers of desire to a roaring flame.

He wanted her again. With a fierceness that rivaled his desire for revenge. He’d thought nothing would ever equal the strength of that.

This craving both worried and enchanted him. Skylar didn’t seem to realize how beautiful and sexy she was with her riot of red hair and emerald-green eyes. Matt, however, could hardly think of anything else.

Focus.
Damn, this was the worst time for him to be infatuated with a woman, the absolute worst. No matter what, he needed to hold it all together and keep his sights trained on his goal. No way was he messing it up when he was so close.

The sun was warm and the slight breeze kept it from feeling too hot. Though he tried to relax, he couldn’t. His senses had gone into a sort of hyperaware overdrive and his chest ached with the effort to appear nonchalant.

“Where are we going?” Riding up alongside him, Skylar handled her horse with the natural seat of a born horsewoman.

“I told you, the grand tour. I’m going to take you to see everything.” He managed to smile at her, hoping he at least appeared more relaxed than he felt.

“Everything?” She smiled back, starting a slow burn in his groin. He’d just about decided to try to relax and enjoy the day when she cocked her head and gave him a quizzical look.

“When you say
everything,
do you mean you’re you going to show me where the ammo is stored?”

As far as lust-killers went, this one was a doozy.

He supposed he should be grateful. Instead, he could barely contain his irritation. “Why would I want to do that?”

She lifted her chin in that obstinate little gesture he was coming to know. “Why not? I stuck my neck out for you. I lied to my superior. I think I at least deserve to see it.”

Reining his horse to a halt, he eyed her. “Why? Why would you even want to?”

If he expected her to fumble for a response, he was wrong. “To prove to myself it’s really there. All this time, with the ATF claiming to have proof that you’ve amassed a stockpile, I’ve been searching for it. Now you’ve leveled with me and we’re on equal footing. I think I have a right to see it.”

Inhaling deeply, he hoped his grimness wasn’t reflected in his expression. “That doesn’t even make sense. Tell me the rest. Again, why do you want to see my ammo?”

Gazes deadlocked, neither would look away. A thousand possibilities spun in his mind—from her finally being able to call in the ATF with some trumped-up charges to her actually working for Diego Rodriguez. Which was ridiculous. She’d lost her family, just like him. With something like that in common, he knew she’d never betray him.

He trusted her—up to a point. Just not enough, not yet.

“I just do,” she responded stubbornly. Her answer didn’t make him feel any better.

He glanced at his watch. “You know what? I suddenly remembered an appointment. The local Cattle Ranchers Association is meeting in town in half an hour. I was going to skip it, but now I think I’d better go. We’ll have to head back in. I guess I can give you the ranch tour some other time.”

His patently sincere tone didn’t fool her. He didn’t care.

“You can go with me if you’d like. Come on.” Turning his horse toward home, he waited for her to catch up. But when he glanced back over his shoulder, he saw she hadn’t moved.

So he rode back to her, cursing under his breath. “What are you doing?”

Her eyes blazed emerald fire. “Refusing to play stupid games. What are
you
doing?”

She had him there. Dragging his hand across his chin, he winced. “There’s no need for you to see the ammo.”

“Really? I’m beginning to wonder if there even
is
any ammo.”

Whatever. He wasn’t rising to the bait. “I’ve told you everything I can. And while I do appreciate you helping me out by giving a bit of incorrect information to your agency, there’s no reason for you to see anything at all. Understand?”

“No. Actually, I don’t.”

Frustrated, he caught himself staring at her mouth. Hell, he’d much rather kiss her than waste time with this pointless arguing. But kissing her would likely lead to something hot and unstoppable in no time—and that was a risk in and of itself.

“You really don’t see, do you?” Shifting in her saddle, she appeared every bit as aggravated as he was. “I’ve dedicated my life to my job. So far, I have never failed to make the arrest. This case—your case—was supposed to be an easy one. Assuming it went well. Which, so far, it has not.”

He waited, aware there had to be more.

After taking a deep breath, she continued, “While I did what I could to help you, I have to believe that this is still going to end up being the best bust of my career. Oh, not of you—” she waved away whatever comment he was about to make “—but of key players in the Mexican drug cartel. Maybe this time we can get some charges to stick before they’re extradited back to Mexico.”

Now it took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to comment. It was obvious Skylar had no idea how these criminals worked. If captured, Diego Rodriguez would never make it to trial. He’d be shot and killed within the first forty-eight hours, if that long.

Rather than some cartel employee who was killing for hire, Matt wanted to be the one to kill him. Simple as that.

“Come on, Skylar.” He gestured. “I wasn’t joking about the meeting. Let’s go.”

“What about our picnic lunch?” she asked.

“We can eat it in the truck on the way.”

Reluctant—and not bothering to hide it—she finally turned her horse around and rode with him back to the ranch.

Once they’d removed the saddles and brushed down the horses, Matt eyed her once again. Careful to keep his distance—he didn’t want to take a chance on even brushing up against her and inflaming his already semi-aroused body—he checked his watch once more.

“I’m going to head to the house and clean up. If you want to go to town with me, I’ll meet you out front in fifteen minutes.”

“No thanks.” Though her tone sounded serene, the smile she gave him hinted she was up to no good. “I think I’ll just grab my own lunch and hang out here.”

“Suit yourself.” Confident she couldn’t get into any trouble, he left her, feeling both relieved and disappointed all at once.

* * *

Hating that she couldn’t articulate why she wanted to see the ammo, Skylar watched Matt go. It didn’t help that he was right, in part. To him, it made no difference whatsoever if she viewed his stockpile. Her cover was blown and her usefulness limited.

But not to her. If she truly knew where his stash was kept, she’d have that much to hold in reserve if and when everything else went south. Which, she admitted, it so easily could. One phone call and she could bring the well-trained team of agents down here like rain.

But not if she didn’t have a single shred of proof the stockpile truly existed.

Well aware her limited window of opportunity was growing ever shorter, she knew she’d have to take advantage of every chance that came her way.

Therefore, she’d begged off attending the cattle-ranchers meeting with Matt. It had sounded boring anyway.

After all, having a few hours to herself would give her the perfect opportunity to do a little more snooping. Though she couldn’t imagine where he’d hide such a huge amount of bullets, this time she planned to search the ranch office, which was housed in a building near where the big barn used to stand. Luckily the fire hadn’t spread to it.

Returning to her trailer, which had a good view of the drive, she stood vigil, watching until she saw Matt’s red Ford F250 pull away. Then, feeling absurdly nervous, she took a stroll down to the old barn, ostensibly to pet the horses, in case anyone asked.

But for late in the afternoon, the stable yard was curiously deserted. She went directly to the barn to make her rounds admiring the beautiful horses before exiting and strolling toward the ranch office.

This door, too, was kept unlocked; lucky for her, because there was no way in hell she could easily explain picking the lock.

The late-afternoon sunlight had begun to wane, fading into the rosy dusk of early evening. A perfect time when overhead lights would not be necessary, though she had a handy flashlight app on her phone that she could use if the lighting inside the ranch office was too dim.

She still didn’t see another soul.

Odd. Quietly she walked up the wooden steps to the small porch. Grasping the knob, she pulled open the door and slipped inside.

Whew. The hard part over, she stood still until her breathing quieted. It was then that she realized she wasn’t alone. Grunts and groans, endearments whispered in Spanish, the instantly recognizable sounds of two bodies intertwined, the distinctive and unmistakable sounds of lovemaking.

Horrified, Skylar froze. As her eyes adjusted to the dark room, she saw José and a blonde woman, naked on the office couch. Neither had noticed her arrival.

Crap. What the hell should she do now? Her best option would be to beat a graceful exit, especially since once he got past his embarrassment, José would undoubtedly demand to know what she was doing snooping around the ranch office.

Luckily, the two of them were so involved with each other that they still didn’t know she was there.

As their caresses grew more intense, the woman raised her head. Skylar recognized her from photos she had in her file on Matt. The woman—Chantal something—was a model and Matt’s former girlfriend. From all the news stories she’d seen on TV and in the magazines, the woman was extremely high maintenance. She needed a man with a lot of money, like Matt. How a man like José could afford her, Skylar didn’t know.

Great. Just great. Skylar hastily looked away, praying she could make a quick exit. Her only option would be to go back out the way she’d come.

Heart in her throat, she began backing away. When she could reach the doorknob, she made a hasty exit. Once outside, she ducked around a corner and waited to see if there was any pursuit.

So far so good. Nothing happened.

Okay, then. Hurrying back toward her camper, Skylar tried to think. She hadn’t even known about the ruins of the old house or the fact that there was a cellar. On the off chance that the ammo really was there, maybe she should check it out first. Once she found out where it was, that is.

She’d go grab her dog and check the place out. With Talia in tow, she headed on foot across the first pasture, breathing deeply of the clear country air, when her cell phone rang. Her entire body tightened when she realized it was her boss, David.

“Thanks for the information,” he said, sounding pleased. “I’ve passed it on to my superiors.”

Skylar made a noncommittal sound. She knew there had to be another reason behind the call. David wasn’t in the habit of phoning just to praise her.

“We have a bit of new information about José Nivas,” he said. “A deposit of twenty-five thousand dollars was posted in his savings account a few days ago. Any idea where he might have come by that amount of money?”

Though she had no idea what kind of salary Matt paid his friend, she knew it wouldn’t be anywhere near that kind of money. “No,” she answered. “No, I don’t.”

“We think he might be running a little business on the side, selling off some of Landeta’s ammo. I want you to keep your eyes out for anything incriminating. We just might come away with two arrests instead of one.”

Stunned, she agreed to do exactly that and pressed the button to end the call. Only then did she realize she’d forgotten to mention stumbling in on José having sex with Matt’s former supermodel, high-maintenance girlfriend. If that wasn’t a motive for needing money, she didn’t know what was.

She had to tell Matt. Or did she? José was his closest friend—hell, the two men were like brothers. Worst-case scenario, Matt would refuse to believe her, and her attempt to keep him informed would result in yet another wedge being driven between them.

“I wonder if he keeps an inventory on his stockpile,” she mused out loud, causing Talia to wag her plumed tail.

Damn. Really, she needed to find a way to let Matt know. He’d grown so used to watching for enemies without that he hadn’t once considered looking within.

She found the old house—correction, old ruins—easily enough. The site gave off an aura of sadness and neglect. Sighing, she turned in a slow circle, trying to see the place as it once had been. Hard to believe that this pile of rubble had ever been a home where children played in the yard.

Most of the house was gone. Only the chimney still stood. Walking around carefully, she found a concrete triangle still standing, into which had been set a rotted wooden door. This had to be the entrance to the cellar.

Yanking the door open as carefully as she could, considering it must have weighed close to twenty pounds, she brushed away spiderwebs and peered down into the dank darkness.

Should she go down there? Was it safe?

She only debated a few seconds. After all, she was here on assignment. She had to learn if Matt had really stored the ammunition here. She didn’t have time for fear.

Descending the steps—which blessedly were concrete—was an exercise in control. She’d worked hard over the years to contain her terror of small, enclosed spaces. Unfortunately, she would have felt a lot better if someone were here with her, just in case she got stuck. Since she hadn’t even been able to tell anyone where she was going, she’d have to rely on Talia to fetch help if needed.

Hopefully, that wouldn’t be necessary.

“Talia, sit.” Once her pet had obeyed, she gave the palm-forward hand signal for
stay.
“Wait,” she said.

Then, inhaling deeply, she turned to go down into the dark and empty cellar.

While she hadn’t brought one of the huge flashlights—too conspicuous—she had a penlight she’d clipped to her purse. Its steady pinprick of light was welcome as she went down into the darkness.