Kitabı oku: «Special Ops Bodyguard», sayfa 3

Kate might be a breath of fresh air in the dank cave of his life, but he had no room for distraction. And she didn’t need his black cloud obliterating her light.

Chapter 3

“Get down, you mongrel!” Hank snarled when Ace greeted the senator by planting his muddy paws on the man’s Italian suit.

Gage stepped forward and whistled for the border collie. “Ace. Here, boy.”

Obediently, Ace walked slowly over, wagging his tail, and Gage scratched the elderly dog’s head. Across the yard, the outbuildings seemed eerily quiet compared to the activity just last night. A dry wind blew the scent of manure up from the stables, and Gage could almost imagine a tumbleweed rolling through the deserted ranch. Poor dog was probably lonely, what with everyone, including the other dogs, gone on roundup.

“Stupid dog,” Hank grumbled, swiping mud from his pants.

Grouch, Gage thought, opening the back door of the Lincoln Town Car for the senator. What kind of man doesn’t like dogs?

Already, after barely twenty-four hours in Montana, Hank had grown tired of sitting around the ranch’s main house and decided to get lunch in town—contrary to Gage’s advice to stay put and keep a low profile.

“That’s why I have you for protection,” Hank had countered. “So I can go places and do things with you to watch my back.”

So they were headed into Maple Cove for lunch at Ira’s Diner, and Gage was trying not to think about seeing Kate again. His stomach knotted when he remembered her face as it had appeared in his nightmare. Still. Blood-streaked. Lifeless.

“From now on, when we go anywhere, you keep that mutt away from me.” Hank frowned at Gage before he climbed into the back seat. “I don’t need any more suits ruined.”

“Yes, sir.” Gage gave Ace another furtive pat before sliding behind the steering wheel. Good dog.

Hannah Brown appeared at the back door and called to Ace. The dog’s ears perked, and he trotted off, following the sound of her voice.

Gage drove north into Maple Cove, listening to the senator grumble in the back seat about the spotty cell phone reception for his BlackBerry. When they reached the small town, Gage parked in front of Ira’s Diner, and anticipation jangled his nerves as though he were a grunt on his first day of basic training. Get a grip, soldier.

“Nothing’s changed.” The senator’s voice dripped with condescension. “I’ve been gone more than thirty years, but nothing ever changes in the booming metropolis of Maple Cove, Montana.”

“We could always go back to the ranch,” Gage suggested. Coward.

“No. Let’s go.” The senator opened his door and climbed out before Gage could reply. Before he could do a visual sweep of the street for any potential threats.

Gage scowled. “If I’m going to do my job, Senator Kelley, I need you to follow my directions without question. If I say jump, you’re to jump immediately. No questions asked. Understand?”

The senator shot him a dirty look as he headed into the diner. “Not even to ask how high?”

Gage paused on the sidewalk and braced his hands at his waist, glaring at the senator. A cool October wind, laced with tantalizing scents from the diner, ruffled his hair and stung his cheeks. “A sniper’s rifle can fire a bullet at upwards of three thousand feet per second. If you took the time to question my order, you’d be dead before the words left your mouth.”

Hank hiked up his chin, but his face paled. “No need to get testy.”

“I just want us to be clear. I can’t protect you if you don’t follow my directives.”

His expression contrite, Hank turned to gaze down the street. “Fine. But I’m used to giving orders, not taking them.”

“Understood. And I respect the authority of your office. But Bart and I need your full cooperation to keep you safe.”

Hank straightened his tie and nodded tightly. “Got it.” He turned on his heel and marched into the diner, leaving Gage to follow.

“Rule one,” Gage mumbled, repeating the terms he and Bart had laid out days ago when they’d first taken the assignment of protecting Senator Kelley, “I enter a building first.”

Stepping into the diner, Gage hesitated by the door, letting his eyes adjust to the dimmer light and sweeping an encompassing gaze around the room. He was not looking for Kate, he told himself. Just getting a feel for the lunch crowd and the mood of the room as the newly notorious senator from California entered the diner.

Heads swivelled to stare. Conversations died. A murmur flowed around them as recognition dawned on the other patrons.

When an older woman with her hands full with takeout boxes approached the exit, Gage opened the door and held it while the lady toddled out.

“Hello, Senator Kelley,” a bright voice said. “Welcome to Ira’s.”

Gage’s heart missed a beat as he turned to find Kate setting out clean utensils at the table behind them.

She flashed the senator a bright smile before aiming the full wattage on Gage.

Steady, boy.

“Back so soon, Gage? You did like my pie, then, didn’t you?” She added a wink, and Gage’s breath stuck in his chest. God, she was even prettier than he’d remembered. Today she wore her wheat-blond hair pinned back with barrettes shaped like butterflies, giving him an unimpeded view of the sparkle in her blue eyes.

He clenched his teeth long enough to catch his breath and form a reply that didn’t sound like the babbling of a lovestruck sap. “The senator had cabin fever.”

The teasing light in her face dimmed slightly, as if his response disappointed her. Mentally he kicked himself. Yes, Miss Rogers, I enjoyed your pie a lot. I’m looking forward to another slice for dessert. Yeah, that might have been more what she was looking for.

Gage scowled, frustrated with his schoolboy jitters and took a seat at the table next to Senator Kelley.

Kate handed them each a menu as another waitress brought glasses of ice water to them. “This is Ms. Emerson. She’ll be your server today.”

“Howdy, folks,” the brunette with sprinkles of gray at her temples and a pencil stuck over her ear said. “Our special today is roasted chicken and rice.”

Kate walked back to the counter as the waitress, whose name tag read Laurie, recited the soups of the day. Gage listened with only half interest, while another glance around the restaurant located Janet. Even from this distance, Gage could see the bruises on Janet’s arm and the shadow of a black eye under her makeup.

Fury roiled in his blood toward the man who’d inflicted the wounds. He could only imagine how frustrated Kate must be trying to free her sister from the abusive marriage.

“What’ll you have, honey?”

Called from his musings by Laurie Emerson’s question, Gage jerked his attention back to his table. “The special is fine.”

“Good choice.” Laurie winked, then cast her gaze in the direction he’d been staring. “Sorry, partner, Janet, over there, is married. Don’t get any ideas.”

Gage opened his mouth to deny Laurie’s assumption, but she swished away with their order before he could speak. He shot a look at Hank, who was busy scoping out the other diners and the Western-themed decor of the small-town establishment. Gage took the opportunity to study Kate, who laughed as she talked to an older gentleman seated on a stool at the long lunch counter. She opened the pastry cooler and removed a pie with a fluffy meringue, and her customer patted his heart and nodded.

“I’ll have some of that if you’re serving, Kate,” another man called across the diner.

“Hold your horses, Gene!” she called back with a beatific grin. “There’s plenty!”

And so it went for the next several minutes as Gage and Hank ate their lunch, exchanging only occasional small talk. Kate chatted amiably with the ranchers and other townsfolk, serving up cake, pie and other pastries with an unfailing smile. Every few minutes, she would glance in his direction, and Gage made no secret of the fact that he was watching. He’d nod or raise his eyebrows in acknowledgment, and Kate would flash a quick grin and flush to her roots, then busy herself with some trivial task.

Meanwhile, Janet, between serving bowls of chili and stew, cast her sister hooded glares. When Kate would get especially chatty with one of the younger men lunching at the counter, Janet invariably stalked over with some terse comment that would send Kate off to the kitchen or another customer.

Gage folded his arms over his chest and pondered his observations. Janet seemed unwilling to let her sister enjoy the easy rapport she had with the customers. She seemed … jealous of the attention, the compliments and the laughter Kate received. Especially from men.

When Hank answered a call on his BlackBerry, Gage faced the senator with a curious lift of his brow.

The senator blanched, clearly rattled by whoever was on the phone. “Oh my God! Where are you?” he gasped, then rose quickly and carried the phone to a far corner of the diner, plugging one ear with a finger.

Gage stood, as well, prepared to follow the senator if he left the room. As long as he stayed in sight, Gage allowed Hank privacy for his call. With his attention riveted on his client, he didn’t see Kate approach his table with a white pastry box in her hands.

Kate tried to squash the girlish flutter in her stomach as she set the box on the table and tapped Gage on the shoulder. He turned with a startled jerk and a frown. His stern expression almost deterred her from pursuing any conversation with him. Didn’t the man ever smile? But she recalled how he’d held the door for Mrs. Bradshaw earlier and, coupled with his willingness to defend her and Janet against Larry the night before, that simple courtesy gave her hope that a good-hearted and gallant man resided beneath his dour yet handsome facade.

“These are for you.” She nodded toward the box. “To say thank you for stepping in last night to help out with Larry. Not many men in this town are willing to tangle with my brother-in-law.”

Gage glanced at the box, then redirected his penetrating gaze on her. Those cool, deep blue eyes had followed her movements around the diner since he’d arrived, and she’d felt the weight of his stare like a physical touch. Intimate and personal. Distracting.

She worked to hide the nervous twitch in her grin as she laid a hand on the box. “They’re eclairs. Chocolate. I made them this morning. For you.”

Dear heavens, under his unnerving stare she couldn’t even form a whole sentence. She sounded like a babbling idiot!

He covered her hand with his, scooting hers aside so he could lift the box lid. “You made these?”

She shrugged. “No big deal. I was already doing the day’s baking and … well, I just wanted to thank you. You do like chocolate, don’t you?”

He nodded once. “Thanks.”

Abruptly, Gage’s attention darted across the room to the senator, who was still deep in conversation on his cell phone.

Had she imagined the chemistry she’d experienced with him last night? He seemed distant today, despite his piercing gaze. “Well … enjoy them,” she mumbled awkwardly. “And thanks again.”

“Kate.”

She faced him again, her heart tapping with a schoolgirl’s hope and anticipation. “Yeah?”

“Does Janet always act that way toward you?”

She gave him a puzzled frown. “Act what way?”

Before he could answer, Charlie Stokes drove past the diner, his ancient truck backfiring with a loud boom.

Instantly, Gage dropped low behind the table, jerking her to the floor beside him.

“Get down!” he roared, sending a wave of panic and series of gasps through the diner. Especially when he dug a large handgun from under his jacket and scrambled in a crouch to the corner of the diner where Hank Kelley huddled behind a stack of extra chairs.

Kate clapped a hand to her chest and chuckled a nervous laugh. “Easy, cowboy. Put away the weapon. That was just Mr. Stokes’s 1957 pickup backfiring.”

Slowly the other diners realized Gage’s alarm had been for naught and returned to their meals with shakes of their heads. Kate scurried across the room, a reassuring hand raised toward Gage.

The senator and Gage cast another look around the room for good measure, then Gage put a hand under Hank Kelley’s elbow to help him back to his feet. “Right.” He clamped his lips in a scowl. “Still, I couldn’t take the chance that it wasn’t a truck. I—” He released a deep breath that shuddered out of him. “Are you all right, Senator?”

Hank nodded, frowning at his bodyguard. “Fine, but … I’m ready to go. I—” he cleared his throat and dusted invisible dirt from his suit-coat sleeve “—have business to take care of.”

Hank walked to the register in clipped strides, fishing out his wallet to settle the bill.

But Gage didn’t follow. Instead, he braced a hand against the back wall and stared blankly at the floor while sweat beaded on his brow. He sawed out ragged breaths, and the muscles in his arms trembled.

Concern jabbed Kate, and she stepped closer, placing a hand on his broad back. “Gage, are you all right?”

His head snapped up, and his eyes flickered with a wild light. Blinking hard, he took a couple of deep gulps of air and tucked the gun at the small of his back again.

“I—I’m fine. I just—” Sucking in a big breath that flared his nostrils, he shoved away from the wall and squared his shoulders. For the first time since she’d met him, he refused to meet her gaze. “Thank you again … for the pastries.”

Without further explanation, he marched past her, took the box of eclairs from their table and escorted the senator out of the diner.

Kate stared after him, bewildered. What had caused such a drastic reaction from him? The stone-faced tough guy she’d met last night had … cracked. But what did she really know about him? Judging by his defense of Janet last night and the way he’d pulled her out of harm’s way a few minutes ago when he’d thought there was danger, Kate guessed protectiveness was more than an occupation for him. Gage held doors for ladies and had the presence of mind to thank her for the eclairs, even when he’d clearly been rattled by the backfiring truck. Gallant and well-mannered. A modern-day knight.

Kate smiled to herself as she returned to work. If she were a damsel in distress, she could do a lot worse than to have hunky, brooding Gage Prescott coming to her rescue.

“From now on,” Gage said as he backed the Town Car out onto the main street of Maple Cove, “I’m no more than three feet from you anytime we are in public. Got it?”

“That was a private phone call.”

Gage shrugged. “I’m discreet. I won’t disclose any of your personal business, nor will I intentionally eavesdrop.”

Hank grunted. “I’ve heard that before.”

“My only interest is in being close enough to you that I can protect you from a sniper or kidnapper. I was wrong to let you leave the table without me. I won’t repeat that mistake.”

Gage wished he had a do-over on the last ten minutes for personal reasons, too. He hated the thought that Kate had seen his reaction to the truck backfiring.

A freaking truck backfiring. And he’d gone ballistic. Damn it, he’d heard enough gunfire in his life to know the difference between a sniper rifle and a truck backfiring. And yet he’d had a little meltdown. Right there in front of Kate, the senator and half the town of Maple Cove. Gage squeezed the steering wheel and sighed his disgust. One boom, and he was right back on that infernal Afghan road, shaking like a sissy and sweating like a whore. He clenched his teeth. What must Kate think?

Hank grumbled something that sounded like “damn babysitter,” then sighed as his cell rang again. “Yes?” he answered in a clipped tone.

Gage glanced in the rearview mirror at the senator as he took the call. Hank stiffened, and his face paled. “Who is this? Where is Lana?”

Lana. A chill spun through Gage. The senator’s kidnapped daughter.

“I’m clear on your demands, but—” Hank’s voice held an undeniable wobble.

Pulling the car to a stop at the side of the country road, Gage pivoted to face the senator in the backseat, listening and watching intently. Hank met his gaze, the fear in his eyes unmistakable.

“I want to talk to Lana. I want proof that she is alive and well!” the senator barked. When his expression shifted, softened, Gage knew the kidnappers had complied. “Lana! How are you? Where are you?” Hank listened intently, his eyes filling with moisture. He nodded, swallowed hard. “Same here, darling. I— Lana?” Again Hank’s face tightened. “Listen here, you cretin, if you hurt her, I’ll—” He jerked. “Hello? Hello? Damn it!” The senator jabbed his disconnect button, scowling.

Gage gave Hank only a moment to collect himself. “What did your daughter say? Did she give you any useful information?”

The senator glanced up, frowning, clearly ready to tell Gage to mind his own business. But he hesitated, then shook his head. “No. She just had a personal message for me.” He furrowed his brow, mumbling, “An oddly worded one at that.”

“Oddly worded … how?” Gage pressed. “Tell me exactly what she said. What noises could you hear in the background?”

Hank pressed his mouth in a stubborn line. “My relationship with my daughter is none of your business.”

Gage narrowed an equally mulish glare on the senator. “It is if her kidnapping, the people holding her, the threats and demands her kidnappers have made affect my ability to keep you safe. I need to know everything about that call and any others you receive from the blackmailers. Tell me what she said, what the kidnapper said. Verbatim.”

Hank turned toward the window, folding his arms over his chest. For a moment, he said nothing, his turbulent thoughts and emotions playing across his creased face. “The man said the same thing they’ve always said—that if I want Lana returned, I know what I have to do.”

“Which is?” Gage prompted.

Hank jerked his attention back to Gage, his jaw rigid. “Non-negotiable and top secret.”

Gage clenched his teeth. How was he supposed to protect the senator when the man wouldn’t tell him what or who they were up against?

Hank shifted on the seat and cleared his throat. “Then Lana said, and I quote, ‘On the remote chance that I survive this ordeal, I hope we can elevate our relationship to a higher place.’ Period. Then they took the phone away from her, repeated their warning and hung up.”

Gage repeated Lana’s statement, puzzling over the awkward phrasing. Was her wording choice a matter of nerves or was she telling her father something?

Hank dragged a hand over his mouth and sighed wearily. “As you saw last night with Cole, I haven’t been an especially good father in recent years. I traveled a lot on business, worked late, gave my career priority over family more often than not.” Hank cast Gage a brief guilty glance before turning toward the window again. “Cole resents me, especially now, with all my … indiscretions coming to light.” Another sigh. “Can’t say that I blame him.”

Gage arched an eyebrow. That admission, for a senator who’d been as self-involved as Hank Kelley, was rather significant. Too bad Cole wasn’t here to hear it.

Gage hadn’t been close to his own father, but at least no animosity lingered between them the way Cole resented the senator.

“But Lana was different,” the senator said, pulling Gage out of his musings. “Lana always stood by me, gave me the benefit of the doubt. So for her to say we need to work on our relationship—”

“Elevate,” Gage corrected as he pulled the Town Car back onto the road.

“What?”

“You quoted her as saying she hoped you could elevate your relationship. I think her word choice was intentional.”

“Are you saying she was sending me a cryptic message?” Skepticism darkened Hank’s tone.

Gage shrugged. “Possible. Can you think of another reason for her odd phrasing?”

“I— No. What do you think she was saying?”

“Good question.” Gage chewed the inside of his cheek as he drove past the endless stretch of pasture land, the jagged silhouette of the nearby mountains looming before them. “Elevate could mean elevators. That and the bit about a higher place … Maybe she was saying something about a high-rise building … somewhere you’d have to take an elevator to the top floor.”

“A tall building, hmm?” Hank scoffed. “Well, that narrows it down, doesn’t it?”

Gage cast Hank a withering glance in the rearview mirror. “We’re brainstorming here, talking through the possibilities.”

Jerk.

“Fine. So my highly educated daughter was telling me, not that she hoped to have a closer relationship with me but that she was being held in a tall building with an elevator,” Hank groused. “Brilliant.”

“Actually, I think any clue she could pass to you without tipping her hand to her kidnappers is very crafty.” Gage rolled the ache in his shoulders. When he’d dived for the floor at the diner, he’d caught the edge of the table. His arm would be sporting a good bruise tonight. “Give her credit.”

“Oh, I do. But your interpretations of her clues are rather thin, don’t you think?”

They’d reached the entrance to the Bar Lazy K Ranch, and Gage drove through the raw timber arch. “Elevate could refer to professional rank or position. Although she said higher place. That makes me think she’s talking about a location.” Gage glanced in the rearview mirror again to assess the senator’s reaction to this hypothesis. And the reflection of the Absaroka Mountains behind them caught his attention.

“Elevate … elevation … higher place …” One thought tumbled onto the next as certainty swelled in him. Gage braked hard and swivelled to stare through the back window. “Maybe she was saying she’s in the mountains. She could even be in those mountains.” He aimed a finger at the range on the horizon.

Hank tensed and turned to look out at the rugged peaks. “My family has owned property in or near Maple Cove for three generations. That’s public knowledge.” A muscle in Hank’s jaw twitched. “She was taken in Europe, but … it’s certainly possible the kidnappers would hold her near here.”

Gage drummed the steering wheel with his fingers as he started the car inching up the gravel road to the main house. “It’s one possibility, but we can’t fixate on one idea to the exclusion of others.”

He knew better than to expect the senator to give him any credit for having worked through Lana’s puzzle even that far. Gage schooled his expression and parked on the drive in front of the main house.

“Once we figure out where she is, I can finally do something to help her.” Hank’s tone rang with an optimism that bothered Gage.

“Meaning you’ll call the FBI?”

“No. The kidnappers were clear. No police.” Hank sliced the air with his hand. “I’ll only call the FBI as a last resort.”

Gritting his teeth to bite back his opinion of Hank’s stubbornness, Gage climbed out of the car and scanned the property for threats with a careful eye. From the door by the kitchen, Ace trotted up, tongue lolling, to greet the arriving guests, and Gage held the dog’s collar while Hank got out of the car.

“Sir, I understand your reluctance to defy the people holding your daughter, but the FBI—”

“No FBI!” Hank growled and straightened his sleeves. “I have my own resources and personal reasons not to involve the authorities. When the time is right, I’ll have Lana rescued on my own terms.” Turning on his heel, the senator marched toward the house, his chin high.

Gage closed the car door and used the key fob to lock the doors as he followed the senator inside. He could only hope Senator Kelley’s selfish agenda didn’t get his daughter killed.