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?”
She nodded, folding her hands together in her lap.
He’d let that go for the present, but they would be alone on the ride to town and back. “Then we need to talk about who you think would want to do you harm.”
“I’ve been thinking about that all night. At the head of the list is Diego Mederos, but I have made some other criminals mad at me because I was responsible for them going to prison. I’ve been aggressive in my prosecution. My vision is to make this county a safe haven.”
“I wish there was such a place.” That was why he’d gone into law enforcement when he’d left the army, but after all he’d seen, he didn’t think such a place on earth existed. Thanks to the Lord there was in heaven. That thought had kept him going when he wanted to walk away and let someone else fight the evil in the world.
“I have to try. Did you know what happened to Belinda twelve years ago?”
“Yes.” He remembered hearing about it from his uncle. Belinda had been Tory’s best friend in high school, and she’d been shot in a bank robbery because she didn’t get down fast enough.
“I’d been in that bank ten minutes before that guy went on a shooting spree, killing Belinda. Five people died that day.”
“Is that why you became a DA?”
“I was going to law school already, but that was the main reason I changed the type of lawyer I wanted to be.”
“Why did you want to become a lawyer?”
“Remember I was on the debate team in high school and college? That’s when I started thinking about it.”
“Why didn’t you write me about that?” On one of his oversea tours, he’d been in the Middle East when she started going to the University of Texas her second year in college.
“Because I wasn’t sure. I still had several years to complete before I could go to law school.” She shrugged. “A gal can change her mind just like a guy.”
Ouch! Cade had wanted a family. They had talked about it growing up. He’d never really had much of one. His mother had died not long after he was born and his father had passed away in a riding accident on the ranch when Cade was fifteen. His uncle became his only family and his guardian.
Cade glanced toward the entry hall, wondering if Michelle was still in the guest bedroom she and Tory shared. “Just so you know, I didn’t change my mind.”
She twisted her hands together and ignored Cade’s statement. “I’ll go through the records at my office to make a list of criminals I’ve put away, starting with the more serious crimes.”
Instead of what they really needed to talk about—their past—they danced around the subject, with Tory clearly ignoring they even had a past. “Then we can check to see who’s still in prison. Is there anyone else you can think of besides the people you convicted?”
“No. I’ve lived here most of my life, and I know a lot of the twenty thousand citizens of El Rio.”
“Then how about Diego Mederos? I don’t remember anyone like him when we were growing up.” Twenty years ago the town was
