about adrenaline causing lust and the need to reaffirm life, but that didn’t explain the magnetic pull and his craving to protect her to his last breath.
He felt a bit more in control now that he’d changed and replaced his weapon in its hidden holster at his waist. He set his jaw and swallowed hard. She might be a suspect, and he must uncover her involvement in this international ring before they went any further. What did she know? It was urgent he find out.
He turned up the charm and tried a grin he certainly didn’t feel. “So, what were you really doing out on that lonely road tonight?”
“Hold on, there! I want my questions about you and the baby answered before we talk about anything else.”
“Look,” he growled. “I’m not asking out of idle curiosity, Randi. I’m a federal undercover agent, working on a case. And if I find out you’re withholding information…or that you’re involved in any way, I’ll have you in custody so fast your head will swim.”
Her terrified look should have told him all he needed to know. But his emotions were so raw he ignored his own gut instincts.
He pushed ahead, overpowering the conversation and demanding the truth with mere physical presence. “Now answer my question. Why were you out there alone tonight?” he persisted.
“I told you. I was coming home from work in Willow Springs. I’m a nursery school aide there.” Her voice shook and the look in her eyes grew wilder as she automatically answered his demand.
“A pretty woman like you?” His hand went to her soft shoulder. “You sure you weren’t there to meet someone?” He knew the grin had disappeared, but the longer she carried on this innocent game, the more Manny was positive she knew something she wasn’t telling.
“N-n-n-no. Why are you asking? What kind of agent are you and what are you working on?” The words came pouring out. “It was just as I told you. Who would I be meeting in the middle of a storm?”
Manny groaned inwardly, wishing she didn’t look so naive and young. He had to remain tough in the face of all this supposed innocence. She was either the best actress he’d ever seen or she was too guileless to be believed. His first quick impulse was that she must be one heck of an actress. He decided to force the truth out of her.
“All right. Let’s go back to something else you said.” He ended up having to clear his throat to continue. “You said no one lived here on the ranch with you. I find that hard to imagine.”
“I…I didn’t say that exactly.”
Faster than a blink, Manny shoved the towel off her head. A rich, wet tangle of ash, gold and silver flowed over her shoulders. Grabbing a handful of it, he fisted his fingers into the silky strands. She gasped and her eyes opened to the size of dinner plates with his brash movement.
“Then what did you mean…exactly.” He tugged her head back slowly, exposing the satiny skin on her slender neck to his view. A wayward thought of how much he’d like to place his lips on that expanse of softness flashed in his brain before he banished it and tried to steel his features into a threatening look.
“Let go of me! We…I…there’s a ranch hand, uh, and his wife that live in the foreman’s quarters. But…”
“So you lied to me?” he demanded.
“No! You didn’t ask about the ranch. You asked about the house. Now let go…please.”
Manny saw the tears welling in her eyes and immediately released his grip on her hair. But his hand refused to let the damp tresses go completely. His fingers lingered in the intoxicating texture of the multicolored silk.
He felt like a jerk for hurting her. But it was part of the job, and he had to finish his interrogation. Ricky’s life might depend on finding the answers.
“Why all these questions?” she sobbed. “What’s going on? I haven’t done anything wrong.” Randi sniffed and touched a finger to the corner of her eye.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” His voice sounded raspy, hoarse. “But I’m the one asking the questions here. And I mean to know the truth. All of it.”
She arched her eyebrows and glanced away as if she was barely interested in this whole conversation. Damn her. He wanted her scared—scared and willing to tell him anything she might know. He was finished playing games.
Manny had his Glock out of its holster before he had a chance to think it through. “Who else lives on this ranch? Tell me,” he demanded. “And you’d better make sure I believe you.”
Her eyes widened and her hands jumped to cover that full mouth, probably to keep a scream from escaping her lips. Now he’d done it. He reholstered his weapon instantly. Drawing a weapon was just an ingrained movement whenever he needed an intimidating tactic.
This time he hadn’t really been prepared to shoot, however. The monumental significance of that potentially deadly oversight wasn’t lost on him. Nothing like that had ever happened to him before.
“Please. I’ll tell you anything you want to know. Only…please keep that gun out of sight.”
Randi forced a sob back down her throat. She refused to let him see her panic. Dear Lord, was she going to go to jail because she’d been a Good Samaritan? Lewis Lee always said that no good deed goes unpunished. She prayed she’d be around long enough to tell him he was right.
Manny softened his expression. Funny, but she could swear that this big macho man looked remorseful—guilty even. The gun had disappeared under his shirt at his waist almost as quickly as it had appeared. Randi’s gut told her that he would never have used it on her. Her fears subsided the instant she’d seen his expression. Meanwhile, he silently waited for her to continue.
How odd that all her fears had melted away. He was still a huge, dangerous man sitting in her front room and wearing a gun that he didn’t seem to mind using. But there was a glint of some emotion in his eyes that comforted her, drew her to him. Made her positive he was really the lawman he professed to be.
“My…” Her voice cracked and she started over. “My stepfather lives on another part of the ranch. On the Cottonwood section. But he won’t be helping us if that’s what you’re thinking. Probably wouldn’t help—even if he could reach us. He’s kind of put out with me these days.” She swallowed and tried to soothe her dry throat. It was no use. “Besides, he hasn’t been around in a couple of months. Not since…my mother’s funeral.”
“Your mother just died?”
She nodded. The emotion in his eyes changed to sympathy, and her head swam with confusion. What kind of man was this? And what did he really want from her?
Three
A multitude of emotions raced through Randi when Manny stood, turned and stretched out a hand to help her stand. She’d seen the guilt in his eyes when he’d fisted his hands in her hair, questioning her.
His look clearly told her he believed his actions had caused her pain. What she’d actually felt was simply fear—not physical discomfort. He hadn’t hurt her, just scared her. That Manny had such a sympathetic and honest streak in him was as clear as if it was painted on his forehead.
And
