High-Risk Reunion

* * *

Eight hours later, dawn broke on the eastern horizon as Cade neared the accident site in a rented car. The truck had been moved to the side of the road. There was a group of law enforcement personnel hanging around the vehicle. A couple of deputies managed what traffic there was since the scene was in the middle of an S curve.

He hadn’t talked to Paul in a few hours and wanted to know the latest. He pulled behind a patrol car and parked, then glanced at Tory. Her head, cushioned with his jacket, rested against the passenger’s window, her eyes closed. When he peeked at Michelle in the backseat, she was lying down. With her cuts and a couple of bruises starting to appear, she looked as though she’d gone into battle, hammering home she and Tory were both in danger.

They were all exhausted after spending a good part of the night at the El Rio Medical Center that served the area. At least they didn’t have to go to San Antonio. The injury that had concerned him the most was the slash down Michelle’s arm. It required twelve stitches, but she kept it together the whole time. In fact, she had been unusually quiet, her earlier anger before the wreck gone.

Thank you, Lord. It could’ve been much worse.

Tory rallied when he opened the driver’s side door. “Why are we here?”

“I need to talk to Sheriff Dawson and Paul about what they’ve discovered so far, then I’ll drive y’all to the ranch. Uncle Ben has readied the house and will have breakfast for us.”

“I’m glad it’s Saturday. I don’t know how I would’ve made it to the courthouse.”

“We’ll talk about all that later. Rest. I won’t be long.”

She settled against the passenger side door, and her eyes closed immediately. He’d pulled all-nighters before, but he hoped to grab a couple of hours of rest later today. He needed to be at his sharpest if he was going to protect Tory and Michelle.

Cade shook hands with the sheriff. He’d just started working with him and hadn’t known him previously, not like Paul who he’d gone to school with. “Have y’all found anything that leads to the person who left the truck on the road?”

“Now that it’s daylight, we wanted to search the surrounding area more thoroughly. As you know from last night, we found human blood in the back of the pickup that hadn’t been there long. The marks in the truck bed indicated something was dragged from the back still bleeding. We have latent prints in the cab and on the handle of the tailgate as well as fibers. Not sure from what but I sent it to the lab in San Antonio.”

“Any test result back yet? Blood type?”

“Not yet, other than it was human. Should hear soon on that. We did find out that the blood in Tory’s house was from a pig.” The sheriff glanced at where Cade’s wrecked Jeep had been. “I know you said last night you didn’t see anyone in the truck because you were too busy trying to avoid crashing into it. But when you got out to check around your SUV, did you glance up at the road and see anything?”

“No, it was too dark. The more I think about the moment I first saw the vehicle, I don’t believe there was anyone in the cab. Whoever left it was gone or hiding on the side of the road. If I hadn’t had my bright lights on, I might not have been able to avoid the black truck. As you saw, it was parked on the road at just the right place to hinder the chance to stop in time. Who owns it?”

“It was reported stolen in San Antonio last night before the accident. Mark Summers owns it, and the police there have checked into his alibi. Part of the time he was with an officer filling out a stolen vehicle report. The rest of the time he was with his family and neighbors discussing the theft and how to beef up security. San Antonio Police will follow up and interview people in the area where the truck was when it was stolen.”

After talking with a couple of his officers, Paul joined them. “I’m going to focus on some of the traffic cams and see if I can catch the truck on any of them last night. Maybe we’ll be able to get a picture of the driver that way.”

“Who else is involved in the trial of Diego Mederos?” Finding blood in the back of the pickup made Cade wonder if more people than just Tory had been targeted yesterday. Even if they knew it was Mederos who was responsible, without evidence he would get away with a crime yet again.

“Judge Parks is presiding over the trial. But he’s on a hunting weekend right now and isn’t answering his cell phone. Lieutenant Sanders ran the investigation in my department,” Paul said. “I contacted him, and he’s fine. Deputy Collins helped from the sheriff’s office. I haven’t been able to reach him yet either. Also, we received help from Ranger Eastman before he retired. But he lives in Arizona. We left a message on his answering machine.”

Cade would call the Texas Ranger he replaced and get his thoughts on what was going on. “I’ll contact Eastman. He’s an old friend of my uncle’s.” He looked at his rented car. “I know Sanders, but I haven’t met your deputy, Sheriff Dawson. I’d like to work with them since they’re familiar with the Mederos case.”

“Deputy Collins is my second-in-command and just returned from a well-deserved vacation. A good officer. I’ll have him gather up his notes and come by to talk to you. How about this afternoon around four?”

“Sounds good. Call me anytime you have a lead. We could have all died last night. I intend to find who’s behind this.” Cade looked toward the deputies and police officers spreading out from where the truck had been in the middle of the road. They combed the ground and brush, part of them taking the right side of the highway while the other investigated the left. “Are you bringing in a dog to see if he’ll pick up a scent leading away from the vehicle?”

The sheriff removed his cowboy hat, ran his fingers through his gray hair, then plopped his Stetson back on his head. “Yep. Billy still has the best bloodhound around these parts. He’s on his way.”

Cade pointed to the south. “My land starts there. Check that area too.” He wouldn’t be surprised if something was discovered on his ranch. If he didn’t need to protect Tory and Michelle, he’d be out there looking himself. “I’m going to take Tory and her daughter to my house, then I’m going through it to make sure it’s secured.”

“I can spare a deputy to park outside your house after the search here.”

“Good.” Cade touched the brim of his cowboy hat then headed back to his rented four-wheel drive.

As he slipped in behind the steering wheel, Tory opened her eyes halfway, then closed them again. He threw a glance at the backseat, and the sight of his daughter sleeping tugged at his heart. Fifteen years ago, his life could have been so different, if he hadn’t been on that secret mission. He couldn’t change the past, but he could at least affect the future and what was happening here.

* * *

Five hours later, Cade hung up after talking with the retired Texas Ranger about the Mederos case. He intended to pay Diego Mederos a visit later today at the jail, then see Lieutenant Sanders at the station instead of his ranch. He didn’t want Michelle to overhear too much talk about Mederos.

Although the biker gang leader was the most likely person behind the attack on Tory and Michelle, he was also going to dig into Tory’s past cases. She would be with him when he picked up her files, so they could review them and figure out who to investigate. Her secretary, Rachel Adams, was coming in to box them up.

The sound of footsteps drew his attention. With his hand on his gun at his waist, he rose and went into the hallway to check. Tory stopped halfway down the stairs, her face pale and full of exhaustion. She combed her shoulder-length blond hair behind her ears, then twirled the end of some strands—a nervous habit she used to do when she was upset and not sure what to do. In that moment he wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her, make her feel safe.

He broke the long silence. “Did you sleep okay?”

“No, I kept dreaming about yesterday. I finally gave up. At least Michelle is still asleep. How about you?”

“A cat nap.”

“Where’s your uncle?”

“Fixing lunch. He’s determined to do his part by making high-energy food to help keep us going.”

The corner of her mouth tilted up. “I got that impression when he kept insisting we eat his breakfast.”

The hint of a smile reminded him of the Tory he used to know. He hated to bring up the situation, but time was against them. “We need to talk.”

“Yes, before Michelle wakes up. This has taken a big toll on her.”

He waved his arm toward the living room. “I agree. She’s gone through a lot. How about you?” Not only did his daughter have a long gash on her arm but smaller ones on that side of her body. He was feeling sore, so no doubt Tory was too. The seatbelt held them in place, but they had been jerked around as the Jeep rolled as though they were spinning in a clothes dryer.

All emotions left her expression. “I’ll be okay as long as Michelle is.” She started for the living room.

Cade trailed behind her. He’d learned to read her easily when they were teenagers. She’d confided in him all the time. The woman in front of him was determined to keep everything bottled up inside her. What had happened to her since they’d dated?

She took a seat in a navy blue lounger as he sat opposite her on the tan couch. “When are we going to my office?”

“After lunch. Paul gave your secretary my cell number. She called. She’ll be there at one o’clock to help any way she can.”

“Rachel is invaluable to me. She knows what’s going on in my office as well as I do.”

“Good, we could use her input.”

She panned the room. “I like the homey feel to this room.”

“You can thank Uncle Ben for that. The house may belong to me, but it’s really his home.” Why were they dancing around the subject they needed to discuss? After another minute of silence, he finally said, “This might be a good time to talk about what happened between us all those years ago.” He knew the case needed to be discussed, but their earlier relationship was standing in their way of working as a team.

“No.”

The force behind that one word blasted him. “Because Michelle’s nearby?”