you know, someone has been leaking secrets to Calderone. We think it might be Mitchell himself.”
A curl of smoke from the cigarette of a man a few stools down wafted into Cody’s face. His eyes burned, but not nearly as severely as the acid that pooled in his stomach. There was a leak somewhere. That part was true. But, Mitchell?
Even as angry as Cody was with the man, he’d never imagined Mitchell capable of deceit where Texas Confidential was concerned. Not when stopping Calderone seemed to be the cause that fueled his incredible drive.
But this would be just like the department. The same minds that had dreamed up Texas Confidential would like nothing better than having Daniel Austin, their master of disguises, working so far undercover that even Calderone himself would take the man into his confidence.
“What is it you need me to do?” he asked, still suspicious, but warming to the idea of getting in on the action of bringing Calderone down. Especially when it meant he’d outdo Mitchell Forbes.
“I need you to go to the airport and pick up a woman named Sarah Rand. She’ll be flying into San Antonio and arriving at five o’clock tomorrow afternoon. After you pick her up, I’ll contact you and tell you where I’ll meet the two of you.”
“And who is this Sarah Rand?”
“She’s a secretary for the Department of Public Safety. Works for Elmore Cochran.”
Cody recognized the name though he’d never met the man. He’d just been promoted and was now the final authority over anything involving Confidential agents.
Dan leaned in closer, his voice lowered to a barely audible whisper. “Evidence indicates that Miss Rand may have been selling secrets to Calderone, and that’s what she thinks she’s doing now. I’ve offered her one million dollars to deliver some secret files to me. If she delivers, it will prove her guilt.”
Cody parted his lips as a low whistle escaped. “I don’t see how this would prove anything except that she can be bribed for a million dollars. Selling you top secret info now doesn’t mean she’s done it before. Not to mention that there are laws against entrapment.”
“You let me and the department worry about that end of it. All I need from you is a simple yes or no.”
There was nothing simple about the answer Cody was about to give. If this man was Daniel Austin, then a yes would put Cody into the thick of things. He could be a major player in the action that brought the mighty Tomaso Calderone to his knees. And how sweet it would be to let Mitchell Forbes see that he was his own man.
But if this wasn’t Daniel Austin, then he could be walking into a trap. He’d have to watch his back every minute. Nothing new there.
“I’ll go with the yes.” Daniel nodded and his eyes warmed, though his lips stayed drawn in the same thin line.
“So after I pick up Miss Sarah Rand, where do I deliver her?” Cody asked.
“I’ll let you know that at the time.”
“How do I reach you?”
“You don’t. I’ll reach you. You just pick up the woman and get her into your truck. I’ll make the connection at that point.”
“I don’t have a cellular phone anymore. The one I had belonged to Texas Confidential and I turned it in when I left. All I have is a beeper, and that only until someone cancels the contract.”
“Then I guess that will have to do.” Cody scribbled his pager number down on a napkin and handed it to Daniel though he had the sneaking suspicion the man already knew it. “How will I recognize this woman?”
“She’s young—in her twenties. Her hair’s a reddish blond and she wears it straight and just long enough to cover her ears. She’ll be wearing a hot pink suit.” Daniel stood up. “Oh yeah,” he added. “She’ll be carrying a canvas tote that says ‘So many cowboys, so little time.’ You can’t miss her.”
With that, Daniel Austin slid off his stool and staggered to the door, doing a flawless performance as an elderly drunk. His baggy pants rode his thin hips, and the back of his gray hair zigzagged in and out of his shirt collar. One of the younger cowboys moved out of his way in deference to the man’s apparent age and condition.
Cody waited a few minutes, then left the bar and walked back to his pickup truck. A few minutes ago, he’d been wallowing in his bad luck. But now the old juices were starting to flow. He was back in the saddle again.
CODY STOOD aside as the first eager passengers from Flight 109 made it to the end of the exit ramp. A few men and women in business suits, a hot-looking babe in a pair of skintight jeans, a group of elderly ladies all laughing as if they didn’t have a care in the world.
The stream of arriving passengers slowed, and doubt started to nag at the back of his mind. If this turned out to be a fishing trip to a dry creek, he was going to be downright mad at himself. He craned his neck at the first sight of hot pink. Nope. False alarm. The woman was pregnant.
The hair color fit though. Hers was shiny, strawberry blond, straight. And just long enough to brush the edges of her blushed cheeks. Dressed in hot pink with a black coat and a leather purse draped over her shoulder and pulling a wheeled carry-on bag. Cute as a button, but pregnant, and Dan would surely have mentioned it if Cody was supposed to pick up a pregnant woman.
She stopped a few feet away from him and looked around. Cody expected some young, expectant father to rush up to meet her. No one did, and he couldn’t help but notice the worry that creased her forehead and shaded her gorgeous green eyes.
She turned, and that’s when Cody saw the cloth tote bag swinging from beneath the coat. The inscription was there, just like Dan had said. So many cowboys, so little time.
Undoubtedly this was Sarah Rand. Now all Cody had to do was pick her up and take her to meet Dan so that she could be arrested. Some hero he was, apprehending a pregnant lady.
Cody backed away and then stopped. Pregnant or not, if Sarah Rand was selling secrets that could give Calderone the winning edge, she had to be stopped. He only wished she looked like Calderone or like his right-arm man Rialto had. Those were the kind of criminals a man could get his kicks from sending to prison.
He walked over and tipped his Stetson. “Mind if I help you, Mrs. Rand?”
She stared at him, then looked away, nervously scanning the crowd. Hot pink outfit, tote bag. It had to be her, so why was she ignoring him? He stood his ground. “You are Mrs. Rand, aren’t you?”
Her brows furrowed. “Why do you ask?”
“I was sent to pick you up.”
She smiled slightly. “You’re not what I expected,” she whispered, turning to glance over her shoulder.
“You don’t have to whisper,” Cody said. “We’re just a couple of friends meeting in the airport. Try to appear that way.”
“Okay.” She took a deep breath, but didn’t relax. “I know I’m supposed to act cool, but ever since I caught the plane in D.C. I’ve been a nervous wreck. The man sitting next to me kept trying to talk to me and I finally told him I had a migraine just so he’d back off. I thought about
