Hidden Prey (Lawmen) (10 page)

“Hi,” she managed to get out as she realized she’d been looking him over for far too long.

She turned back to her task and flipped a pancake so that the browned side was up. “You need to do some serious grocery shopping,”

He leaned against a counter and folded his arms across his chest, causing his muscular arms to look even more defined. “How did you sleep the rest of the night?”

A shiver trailed her spine as she remembered the nightmare. She shrugged, not wanting him to know just how shaken she still was. “I slept fine.” She hadn’t dreamed about the Devil again, but she’d tossed and turned.

He studied her in his intense way, as if he thought she wasn’t being truthful.

“This is the last pancake and then breakfast is ready.” She forced a smile.

Landon pushed away from the counter and got out the dishes and silverware, and Tori took the food off the heat and put it all onto plates to serve. She and Landon set the plates of potato patties and pancakes on the counter, along with the pot of heated syrup on a hot pad. Landon took O’Donnell a plate after giving one to Johnson.

She was surprised at how hungry she was considering everything that had happened. It had all started with Gregory and her need to flee Tucson. The memory of what he’d done the night before she took off for Bisbee left her skin ice-cold. What he’d done to her had been horrible and inexcusable.

When they finished breakfast, Tori and the men went into the living room, preparing to leave for the DHS’s ICE office.

All she had to her name at this moment were the clothes she’d been wearing when this all started, and she wished for clean clothes and some toiletries before they left, but wishing didn’t make it so. Landon loaned her his overshirt and his ball cap again.

The moment Tori and the men stepped outside the house, wind almost knocked off the hat and a few strands of hair got loose. She pulled the hat down tighter and brushed the strands away with her fingers.

She walked at Landon’s side, toward the charcoal gray SUV that he’d driven last night. She hadn’t really been able to see it in the dark. Now she could see that it was a newer model Ford Explorer with sleek, modern lines, yet it was clearly a utility vehicle. He opened the passenger side and she stepped up on the running board as he took her hand and helped her up into the vehicle. Not much longer and they were ready to head to the agency’s Douglas office.

Landon’s phone vibrated in its holster and he dragged his attention from Tori. He started the vehicle and pulled his phone out to see that it was his mother calling.

“Just a moment.” He held his finger up to Tori before taking the call. “Hi, Mom.”

“You haven’t called in two weeks.” Valerie Walker’s tone was admonishing, but there was a smile in her voice. “Two weeks is too long.”

“You’re right.” Landon sighed. “You know how work is.”

“I do know.” She spoke softly. “But you still need to take care of you. Are you coming to Sunday dinner?”

He thought about everything that was happening. “I do want to, Mom. But I’ve got a case that will probably keep me away this weekend.”

She sounded disappointed. “I’ll set the table for you just in case.”

“Thanks, Mom.” He paused. “I have a favor to ask.”

“Of course.” Her disappointment seemed to vanish. “Anything for my only son.”

He told her that he needed women’s clothing, preferably functional jeans and tops, as well as toiletries. He couldn’t give her any details, except that no one from the agency was available at this time to get the needed items. Then he turned and asked Tori for her sizes.

Tori shook her head. “I have no money right now.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Landon spoke firmly. “You can pay me back once you have access to your accounts. For now, let’s get you what you need.”

She clenched her hands together, clearly hating the fact she had to borrow money, but gave her sizes to him. She also told him what toiletries she needed when he asked.

“I’ll head to town now.” His mom sounded pleased. “You know how I love to shop.”

“Yes, Mom, I know.” The corner of Landon’s mouth curved. He arranged a time to meet her in the evening. When he disconnected the call, he re-holstered his phone. At least asking his mom to do this would give him an excuse to see her while he was working.

It took half an hour to drive to the agency office. Douglas was right on the Mexican border, adjacent to Agua Prieta, which was on the Mexico side. Along the way, from Bisbee to Douglas, Tori had seen Border Patrol vehicles everywhere she looked.

She’d grown up in Bisbee, but hadn’t been to Douglas too often. It wasn’t safe to cross the border anymore. When she was very young, her parents had taken her across a couple of times. She remembered the colorful displays of wares that were sold by stores and street vendors. Some of the things she’d liked to look at the most were small statues made of glass and marble, colorful clay pots, rugs, serapes, and sombreros.

Her favorite part of going across the border had been the ice cream carts with
paletas,
Mexican frozen treats. As far as she was concerned, the coconut
paletas
were the best, although the strawberry ice cream bars were good, too. Now she could buy the same brand in some stores in the States, but it just wasn’t the same as standing and eating the
paletas
on a street in Mexico
.

Landon parked in front of a nondescript office building and they climbed out. It was funny how she’d already come to expect him to open her door and assist her in stepping down from the vehicle. Of course she didn’t need the help, but the gentlemanly gesture was sweet.

When she was on the ground, his gaze held hers for a long moment. His eyes were close to a shade of peridot, a little darker than the gemstone’s natural color.

Her lips parted as she realized that he hadn’t released her hand. Warmth traveled between them and she bit the inside of her lip.

He released her and gestured toward the building. “Come on in.”

She fell into step beside him. On the front of the building, in silver lettering, was
Department of Homeland Security
and under that was
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Landon held the glass door open for her and she walked into the lobby. He let the door fall shut behind them, touched her elbow, and gestured down a hallway.

She walked beside him but moved to the side when a man approached them.

“You’re late.” The man gave a nod toward an open door. “The briefing is about to start.”

Landon gave a nod toward Tori. “Dylan, this is Tori Cox. She witnessed Miguel’s murder last night.”

At the words, Tori shuddered. She was a murder witness.

Landon turned to her. “Tori, this is Special Agent Dylan Curtis.”

Dylan held out his hand and Tori took it. She liked his grip, warm and firm. “Thanks for coming forward, Tori.”

She gripped his hand in return. “It’s nice to meet you, Special Agent Curtis.”

“My pleasure.” Dylan released her hand and spoke to Landon. “You need to get your ass in here.”

Landon dragged his hand down his face. “I’ll get Tori settled and be right in.”

Dylan nodded to Tori before he went through the doorway. Landon escorted Tori into a room with a desk and three chairs, and mirrored glass in one wall.

She looked at him. “Is this an interrogation room?”

He nodded. “I’ll be back in fifteen minutes or so.”

“Okay.” She sat in the chair across the table from the other two chairs that were side by side. “I’m not going anywhere.”

He put his hand over hers and squeezed before he turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Landon paused as he left Tori in the room alone, then headed back down the hallway and entered the large briefing room.

Sofia Aguilar, the Resident Agent in Charge, was at the head of the room. The RAC almost always had a hard look on her features, but today she looked fiercer than normal. Her dark hair was pulled away from her face and twisted in a knot at the base of her neck, and her dark eyes were sharp as ever.

Landon took a seat just as Aguilar began speaking. “As most of you know, one of our own was executed in Bisbee last night. Miguel Garcia.”

The agents in the room erupted with expletives.

Landon clenched his hands into fists as anger burned hot and bright inside him.

Aguilar held up her hand, silencing the agents. “We believe the Jimenez Cartel was responsible as Miguel was working deep undercover within the cartel.” She nodded to Landon. “Agent Walker can give more details as he was on scene last night.”

Landon spelled out what happened. “A witness is here now. Knowing that it’s the Jimenez Cartel will narrow the search considerably when we show her photographs of some of the key players.”

Aguilar braced one hand on her hip, which pushed aside her blazer and exposed her shield and her Glock. “Get with her and once she’s finished, make sure she’s kept in protective custody.”

Landon nodded. “We’ll get her back to the safe house as soon as we’re finished.”

“How the hell did this go down?” Dylan’s forehead wrinkled as he asked the questions aloud. “Why was he executed? Was his cover blown, or did he just piss off Jimenez?”

“That’s what we need to find out.” Aguilar’s voice was harsh. It was easy to tell how angry she was over Miguel’s death. She barked out orders before excusing everyone.

Landon’s skin burned and he had the feeling he would explode under the right conditions. Yes, he was going to personally take down the man responsible for killing Miguel.

With renewed fury burning in his veins, Landon headed back to the room where Tori waited.

Landon stood in the doorway and looked at Tori. For some reason he hated putting her through this whole procedure more than he usually did with a witness. Maybe it had something to do with the nightmare last night. Hearing Tori say “the truth,” when she was waking up from her nightmare had sent a strange chill through him. The thought that it could have something to do with his involvement in her brother’s death didn’t make sense.

“Come on out here, Tori.” He inclined his head toward the hallway. “I’m going to have you look through some photos.”

She pushed back her chair and got up from the table to follow him out of the room. She walked with him to another room, this one with six flat screen monitors on one wall. She sat at a conference table in front of the monitors.

Landon sat beside her, a tablet in his hands. He set the tablet on the table and turned toward her. “Let’s start with the blond man you described.” Landon used the tablet to bring up six images of men, one on each of the six monitors in front of her.

“That’s him.” Tori pointed toward the bottom middle screen and then looked to Landon. “He helped another man force Miguel down onto his knees before he was killed.”

Landon’s jaw tightened and his body hardened. She’d identified John Graves, a key man in the Jimenez Cartel. He was the only man with white-blond hair that Landon knew of in the cartel, which was why he had included Graves in the lineup.

He looked back down at the tablet, and in a moment the images of six other men were on the wall monitors, one image per screen. “You mentioned one of the men had a thin mustache, was about five-ten, and had an athletic build. Do any of these men look familiar?”

She shook her head. “No.”

He scrolled through more images. One after another flashed on the screens and she shook her head as they passed by.

After a while she blinked rapidly. “All of the pictures are starting to blur. Can you slow down?”

He stopped the images from moving across the screens for a moment. “No problem.”

When he started again, she continued to watch as surveillance photos and mug shots went by, one after another.

“Stop.” She pointed toward one of the surveillance photos. “That man on the left screen. He was the other man who held down Miguel.”

Tori had just identified Pablo Perez, another key player. He tried to keep his expression neutral. “You’re sure?”

“Yes.” She nodded. “I’m absolutely positive. He and the blond man were the two who chased me.” Tori looked so tightly wound, like she might spring apart.

“We believe we’re dealing with the Jimenez Cartel,” Landon began, and her eyes widened.

“Jimenez Cartel?” She clenched her hands into fists on the tabletop. “That was the cartel that my brother had dealings with before he was killed in that raid.”

A pained feeling shot through Landon. He squeezed her shoulder and his touch made her feel at least a little safer. “It’s going to be all right.”

She hesitated then nodded.

Landon narrowed his brows. “What can you tell me about the man who shot Miguel?”

“All I remember is that he was wearing a suit, had dark hair, and was about five-eleven.” She put her hand to her forehead. “Miguel called him something, but I can’t remember what it was.”

“Let’s go through additional photos.” Landon touched his tablet and more faces started to scroll by on the screens.

She shook her head as they went by. “I don’t recognize any of them.”