into a burger stand parking lot.
“Okay.” Eat. Rest. Talk the cowboy into witness protection. How hard could it be to convince someone to give up the only life they knew because of a perceived threat from a stranger?
“And then you’ll come clean with why you’re tracking one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in the country,” the cowboy said with law enforcement authority.
The motel room was basic but comfortable. There were two full-size beds with a nightstand in between, a small table with two chairs near a picture window, and a dresser with an old-fashioned TV. Joshua would bet money there was a bible in the top drawer. The floral pattern in this room was bluebonnets, a nod to the state flower, and they were on the curtain and both bedspreads. The floor was tiled in a neutral shade.
One of the bedspreads was rumpled and the other bed was being used as a makeshift office. Papers were spread out across the comforter and there was a laptop along with a couple of cell phones and a small technological device that Joshua figured was for surveillance.
“Let’s talk about your options,” Alice said after she’d finished the last bite of her burger and drained her Coke. She wadded up the wrapper and tossed it in the trash. They’d toweled off and she’d changed into dry clothes.
Joshua couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen someone wolf down food so fast, and that was saying a lot given that he had five brothers.
“Or you could tell me what’s really going on. Why you’re on the run from the police,” he countered, motioning toward the second bed, not ready to tip his own hand.
“I’m not—”
He put a hand up to stop her. “If you don’t want to tell me why you’re in this mess we’ll bunk down for the night and I’ll leave you alone in the morning. I have no interest in playing games.”
The woman needed rest and the only reason he stuck around was because he figured she’d be crazy enough to follow him if he left her alone. Or so he lied to himself. There was more to it than that. He wasn’t ready to acknowledge whatever “it” was because she mostly frustrated him.
She slipped off her shoes, settled against the headboard on the second bed and pinched her nose like she was trying to stem a headache. “I’m trying to find a young girl. It’s my fault she’s missing and, therefore, my responsibility to get her back.”
Joshua turned his chair around to face her and clasped his hands, resting his elbows on his knees.
“She disappeared six weeks ago and I’ve been searching for her ever since. With each passing day, her odds crash...” There was so much anguish in her voice that Joshua had to fight the urge to cross the room and pull her into his arms to comfort her. She’d probably poke him in the eyes if he did, he thought dryly, remembering how unwelcomed his attempts to make her feel better had been so far. She’d been clear on where she stood when it came to accepting help or being pitied. She’d taken a zero-tolerance stance.
“How old is she?”
Alice’s eyes were closed now and distress was written all over her features. “Almost sixteen.”
He couldn’t even go there mentally...a place where one of his family members had disappeared. Two of his grown brothers had had brushes with death in recent months and that was enough to keep Joshua on full alert. They were adults capable of handling themselves. But a sixteen-year-old?
He flexed his fingers to keep his hands from fisting.
“I’m sorry,” he said and meant it. Her admission explained a lot about why she’d be staying in an out-of-town motel, alone. “What happened?”
“She was around one day and then not the next.” She opened her eyes and fixed her gaze on the wall directly in front of her. “You asked about me being on the job before. I used to be until this happened.”
“You left to investigate this girl’s disappearance?” he asked, thinking there were at least a half dozen scenarios where he would’ve done exactly the same thing.
She nodded.
“Why not do both?”
“We weren’t getting anywhere on the investigation and my boss wanted my full attention on the job. I agreed, but on my own time I had to do everything I could to find her. The longer she was gone...well, let’s just stay statistics weren’t—aren’t on her side. After three weeks of red tape and netting zero following procedure, I figured I could get a lot further my own way.”
As a cop she’d have to follow procedure to a T when all she really wanted to do was find the girl and bring her home. She wasn’t interested in prosecution and laws would get in the way.
“Did you quit the force?”
“Took an extended leave,” she said. “But I have no idea if I’ll have a job when I return. The chief threatened me and told me not to interfere with an ongoing investigation.”
“Bet you’ve covered a lot more distance than they have,” Joshua said. A flicker crossed her features. Regret? Anxiety?
What was she holding back?
“I wouldn’t know,” she said, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. She bit back a yawn. “This guy I’ve been tracking is the real deal. He is going to come looking for you. It’s not a matter of if, but when.”
“He won’t find me tonight,” Joshua said. “He’s probably still looking for the cute blond teenage girl who got away.”
She laughed but her amusement disappeared too quickly. She zeroed in on him. “I’m serious. This guy is nothing to joke about. He’s ruthless and no one has lived after catching him in action.”
Joshua balked. “And you were trying to get him to take you so you could investigate this girl’s disappearance?”
“Yes.”
“That makes you either stupid or brave. I can’t decide which.” He admired her dedication. He also noted that it would take a whole lot of guilt to make a cop walk away from her job. “How many other organizations have you done this with?”
“Several.”
“And that led you to Perez’s group?”
She fixed her gaze on the ceiling. “He’s my last hope of finding her and I tracked down a lead that says he’s the one who took her.”
“I’m guessing you saved him for last on purpose based on how dangerous he is.” Joshua wasn’t worried about being exposed to Perez. He wouldn’t be sticking around in Bluff for long anyway. He’d been searching for the right time to tell his family that he had no plans to live out his life on the cattle ranch. Granted, he loved the land but he’d applied for a job in the FBI and had every intention of picking up his life where he’d left off once things were settled. A cranky little voice in the back of his mind asked, Then why haven’t you told anyone yet?
The
