Bluegrass Undercover (10 page)

“
N…” Cade started to say.

“
And if you say no, I will take everything and everyone that you cherish from you, one by one, starting with that hairy mutt of a dog and ending with your mother, or maybe that hot little sister of yours.”

Gaylen’s tone had turned deadly. Cade recognized it for what it was. The truth. He would try. He may not succeed, but he believed he would, and sometimes those who overvalue their strengths are the most dangerous because they simply do not understand that they cannot win, so they keep trying. He needed to buy time to see how this would play out.

“
Can I think about it?”

Gaylen relaxed and gave his salesman smile. “Of course you can. I’ll give you until Monday morning. Good evening Mr. Davies.”

With a flick of Gaylen’s wrist to indicate the meeting was over, the steroid triplets grabbed him and pinned his arms back. The remaining man tied the blindfold over his eyes, poorly, again. He contained his sigh at these amateurs only because he knew Gaylen was trying to be intimidating. He didn’t want to fracture his ego. He was a gentleman after all, and he needed to get back to Keeneston as soon as possible so he could find Annie. He had played enough games with her these last weeks, little innuendos and taunts trying to get her flustered and wondering if he really knew who she was. Well, the time for playing was over. He needed her help to protect his team.

Chapter Seven

Annie couldn’t believe it. The bumbling idiots had gotten Cade into the van although he didn’t put up much of a fight. Maybe his military record was forged? He always seemed to need saving. She had tried to follow them, but her damn keys had been eaten by her purse. She had to toss the whole thing on the hood of the car to find them. By that time the van was gone and she stood alone in the large parking lot.

She’d tossed all her junk back in her purse and headed home. She drove through the church parking lot which was sprinkled with cars for some sort of Bible study or singles dance, or whatever they were scheduled for tonight. There may not be many people in Keeneston, and there may not be that much of a night life, but St. Francis could throw some kicking parties.

Annie parked next to the small wood cottage house and leapt up the stairs to her front door. Unlocking the door she ran to where her computer still sat on the kitchen table – the only place she could fit it – and booted it up. She may not know where Cade was now, but she could find out where he would be when it was over.

She typed in his name and found his address. She entered it into the mapping system and stared at a dot in the middle of a field. The system said it couldn’t find the location. Flipping open her phone she dialed the only number she had bothered to learn since moving to Keeneston.

“
Blossom Café. What can I do for ya'?”

“
Is this Miss Daisy or Miss Violet?”

“
This is Miss Violet, dear. What can I do for you, hon?”

“
This is Annie Hill. I need to know how to get out to Cade’s house.”

“
Oh, bless your heart, I won! I won! I never win! Daisy Mae I won!”

Annie had to hold the phone away from her ear as Miss Violet shouted out into the Café.

“
What do you mean you won? Who is it Violet Fae?” she heard Miss Daisy shout.

“
It’s Annie. She wants to know how to get to out to Cade’s house! I won the pool! Today was my day!” There was a chorus of groans as the patrons of the Café checked their dates in the pool and even through the phone Annie bet they could see her red face. “Thank you, dear. It was about time the two of you got together. You’ve been circling each other ever since you got to town.”

“
I got twenty on a June wedding!” someone shouted.

“
What?!” Annie shouted into the phone. “Miss Daisy, what was that?” Annie’s stomach had flipped at hearing the word wedding. Talk about a commitment-phobe. With her history who wouldn’t be?

“
Oh nothing, dear. Now, you want to know how to get to Cade’s. Easy. Turn right out of your house onto Main Street and keep going for about five miles. You’ll see his parents’ stone gate entranceway on the right. Go a half mile further and turn left into Fire Gate Nineteen there. Then make a right on the first dirt road you come to and take that for about a mile. It’ll stop at his house.”

“
Seriously, there are still dirt roads? And what’s a fire gate?”

“
You’ll see it. There’s a break in the fence line, like a driveway, and there’s a white wood marker that has the number 19 in red on it. That’s the fire gate. Of course there are still dirt roads, honey. His house is almost a mile from the road. You know much that would cost to pave? Now, would you say you like the month of July or September better?”

“
Neither. I’m partial to January.”

“
Isn’t that a little soon? Oh well, why waste time is what I say. Have fun tonight!”

Annie closed her phone and stared at it for a full minute. She could just see Miss Violet putting twenty bucks on a January wedding that was never going to happen. Not that a wedding to Cade would be bad, but those were just fantasies. First she needed to make sure he was still alive.

Annie missed the fire gate twice and the dirt road once. A mailbox or a light would be helpful. She turned onto the dirt road and turned on her high beams. She drove through pastures and saw more cows than she ever had before in her life. Soon she came upon some trees and followed the dirt path through the woods.

She rounded the corner, slammed on her brakes, and sent dirt flying as she stopped before hitting a family of deer. Letting out the breath she realized she was holding, she started heading down the dirt road again. She drove around a bend and came out in an opening. A white farmhouse stood there. It was beautiful. She could tell from the architecture that it was very old, but also from the fresh paint job and what looked like a new deck, that Cade had just finished some renovations.

The house was lovely, a two-story, wood farmhouse with a large front porch that had soft-looking chairs sitting out and speakers wired for music. She pulled up to the front steps and turned off her car. The house was dark, and Cade’s SUV was nowhere in sight. A tingle of worry crawled down her spine, but if half of what she read in his military file was true, then he could easily handle himself. She had to admit, she was pretty curious to find out what that joke of a kidnapping was about.

She climbed up the stairs and looked at the comfortable porch chairs, but then she looked toward the house. She wondered what it was like inside. She also knew that to do her job, and do it well, she needed proof that Cade was not supplying his team with S2 or anything illegal. Evidence like that coming to light during a trial would break any case she would make against any of the dealers. Sometimes in her job she had to do things she didn’t like.

Well, if she were honest, a little B and E never hurt anyone. And think how much she could learn about Cade. She took out her pick case, but when she reached for the door, she discovered it unlocked. The knob turned easily in her hand, and she felt her heart speed up at the thought of walking around Cade’s house alone.

She pushed at the door and nothing happened. Huh? It was unlocked. The door was open just a sliver. Why wasn’t it opening all the way? She pushed again, but it didn’t budge. Was something barricading the door? She took her pick and ran it through the sliver of open door. No, nothing was barricading the door. She took a step closer to the door and bent her knees. She put her shoulder to the door and pushed.

She heard someone grunt and the door flew open. It opened so fast she fell forward onto the old hardwood floor. It was her time to groan. The jeans had prevented her knees from being scraped up, but she had landed hard on her hands. She lay there for a second, regaining her breath, when she felt that she was not alone. She slowly raised her head and came face to face with him.

Annie stared, he stared, and neither of them moved. He had big brown eyes that seemed to look right into her soul. With his lopsided grin, he looked like he was laughing. Even his soulful eyes twinkled with some untold joke.

“
Hi there. I wasn’t expecting anyone at home,” she said in a calm voice so as not to upset him.

Slurp! A big pink tongue lapped her across the face. She looked at the happy face in front of her and at his tongue hanging out, his white hairy jowls, and his big, black tail as it thumped against the ground, and smiled. Cade’s dog looked like he had just stepped out of a Disney movie.

“
What a guard dog you are. You sure know how to keep people out and then how to make them feel welcome once they can push past you.” Justin’s tail thumped again as he cocked his head to one side.

“
Well, if you don’t mind, I’m going to take a look around. Do you want to show me where things are?” Justin stood and walked beside her. His big, black nose kept nudging her hand every time she stopped rubbing his head.

“
Can you show me where the drugs are?” Justin stopped walking and plopped to the ground, rolling over to expose his belly. “Hmm. I take it that your drug is belly rubs.” She rubbed his belly for a second as she took in the house.

The house had just had a complete upgrade inside. Everything was new. There was an entranceway with narrow stairs leading upstairs. A half bath was tucked in under the stairs, and an office sat across the front room facing the porch. Past the stairs was a dining room that also connected with the kitchen just beyond that. Cade had obviously knocked down walls to create a large kitchen and living room area in one. The kitchen had brand new stainless steel appliances. A large island with black granite countertops and six barstools separated the kitchen from the living room. The living room held a large leather couch and two matching chairs, one of which was now occupied by Justin. A large LED television was mounted to the far right wall. The back wall had French doors that led out to a brick patio.

Annie walked into the living room and slowly looked around at the pictures and books lining the walls and sitting on tables. There were pictures of Cade with all his siblings, a picture of Cade, Miles, and another one of his siblings in military fatigues in some desert, pictures of an older couple she guessed were his parents, and then some she guessed to be of grandparents.

She opened drawers and looked behind photos but could not find anything relating to drugs or anything else illegal. She decided to run upstairs and check his bedroom before doing a search of his office. Annie hurried up the stairs and peeked into two guest rooms before finding the master suite.

A large, king-size bed with a dark green comforter sat along the far wall in the middle of the room. She walked through the door to his room and couldn’t help the slightly giddy feeling she got when she sat on his bed. Against the wall opposite the bed was another LED television and a chest. She felt through his clothes and couldn’t find anything. She made her way through his walk-in closet and only found a couple of old unloaded rifles. She pushed open the other door in the room and walked into a massive bathroom. A large shower with six shower heads took up most of one wall. Annie couldn’t look away from the shower. She knew what she wanted to do in that shower. It was the perfect shower for it, the hot water pulsing all around, the steam rising up, the bodies… she needed to get out of here before she spontaneously combusted!

Annie lifted the small curtain next to the front door and looked out. All was dark and silent. She felt as if she were in her own world out here. Even though she was illegally breaking and entering, well, the door was unlocked she felt very peaceful out here. Knowing she was in the clear, she headed into Cade’s office.

“
If there is going to be any evidence of drugs, it will be in here.” She sat down in his chair and surveyed his desk. He only had a bookcase and a desk with a computer on it in the room. She opened the desk drawer and found nothing. She opened one of the side drawers and found a desk full of small black cases. She picked one up and opened it: National Defense Service Medal. She picked up another box: Silver Star. There were more than ten boxes in the drawer! She picked up another one and opened it: Legion of Merit Medal. She picked up one more and opened it. Holy crap! It was the Army’s Distinguished Service Cross. She put it back down in the drawer and closed it. She suddenly felt guilty for searching his house with his literally being a national hero.

She quickly went through the other drawers, and finding nothing, pushed back from his chair. She went over to the bookcase and looked at his books, finding a lot of history book such as A. J. Langguth’s
Patriots
, David McCullough’s
1776
, Dan Jenkins’
Semi-Tough
and other football novels.

Annie was just about to call it quits and head back outside to wait when she noticed a heavy-duty lock on the wall hidden behind some large plants. She pushed the plants out of the way and found that it was actually attached to a door. Hmm, now this was strange. Annie pulled out her black leather lock pick case and opened it up. It took her a couple of minutes, but finally she heard the telltale click of the lock opening.