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“I told you, I know all about the setup here.”
“So you did. Then you must know that you and Penny have a lot in common. She has a sharp tongue, too. I think you should come with me and meet her for yourself.”
Kendra hesitated. What would he do if she refused? Would he force her? A shiver of something that might have been anticipation but was probably fear, worked its way down her spine. She shrugged off the sensation. After all, she hadn’t come out here to play word games with him. She’d planned to reconnoiter the area before approaching the ranch later this morning.
“I’m tempted, but thanks to you, my horse took off.”
“No thanks necessary,” he said wryly. “Fortunately, my horse is better trained. He won’t mind if we ride double.”
“Maybe he won’t, but I will.” Get on top of that big horse he’d been riding—with him? No way.
“It’s a long walk.”
“So go catch my horse for me.” She saw the flash of his teeth as he smiled and she tried not to clench her jaw. She’d spent so much of her life talking to computers, she was finding it more difficult than she’d expected to deal with a man like Rafe face-to-face.
Rafe whistled, startling her. His horse lifted its head, whuffed and trotted over obediently. Kendra was impressed despite herself.
“How’d you train him to do that?”
“Charm,” Rafe replied. “You ought to try it sometime.”
She refused to let him see how that stung. “Charm only works on susceptible females.”
“Nope, he’s a gelding.”
“Very funny.”
Rafe took up the dangling reins and swung himself into the saddle with grace and an economy of movement she had to admire. He was incredibly sensual without even trying.
“I’m not riding double with you,” she said defensively.
“I believe I mentioned the long walk.”
“Settled Sue can’t have gone far.”
“Settled Sue? You rented one of Chet’s broken-down ponies? She’ll be halfway to Ash Pond by now.”
So he recognized his neighbor’s horse, which meant he must realize Kendra was staying at Chet Thilgarde’s dude ranch several miles away. Kendra watched as he reached for his saddlebag and withdrew a cell phone, quickly punching in a series of numbers. The call must have been answered immediately because he began speaking almost at once. “Hey, beautiful, what are you doing awake at this hour? Oh. Sorry. Does that mean you’re still in bed? Want to describe what you’re wearing? Something black and sheer, I hope.”
His rumbled chuckle resonated right through Kendra along with a stab of something that felt suspiciously like jealousy.
“Ah, Penny.” Rafe lowered his voice. “And here all this time I never thought of flannel as particularly erotic.”
Kendra realized that while he was speaking to Penny, he was actually watching Kendra from beneath long sooty eyelashes a woman would kill to possess. She tried to keep her face impassive, but it was more difficult than it should have been.
“You wound me, darlin’, but I’m afraid we’ll have to postpone that conversation for another time. I called to give you a heads up. I’m on my way in with company. Nope. I’m afraid Ms. Kendra Kincade assures me she isn’t a rustler, but she does pack a rather wicked six-inch knife.”
He flashed Kendra a grin and listened some more.
“Hey, what can I tell you? A man like me simply isn’t safe guarding the range anymore. Apparently we’ve got women hiding behind every shrub out here. Next time I pull guard duty you’ll have to come along and guard the guard. What’s that? Why, Penny, shame on you. But that reminds me, you might want to alert everyone who’s on watch to keep an eye out for a riderless paint by the name of Settled Sue. Yeah, one of Chet’s. She spooked when I jumped her rider.” He listened for another minute and his devilish grin widened. “Why Ms. Archer, you have a dirty mind. Why didn’t I think of that? We’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”
With a chuckle, he clicked off the phone and reached a hand toward Kendra. “Come on.”
When Kendra didn’t take the offered hand, he lowered his voice to an intimate level. “I only bite when I’m invited.”
Several responses leaped to mind, but Kendra was determined to maintain control if it killed her. Reluctantly, she took his hand. She found herself on top of his massive horse before she could change her mind. Rafe was stronger than he looked. His horse had to be seventeen hands high.
“Hold on, darlin’.”
“To what?”
He reached back, took her hands, and guided them around his waist. “Me.”
Kendra resisted the desire to shove him out of the saddle. For a moment it was sorely tempting but she had the distinct feeling he knew exactly what she was thinking. His lips quirked again in subtle amusement.
“Hang on tight.” And Rafe prodded the animal into a long, loping canter.
Reflexively, her hands closed around his waist, finding no purchase on the slick dark leather of his jacket. Instead, she gripped lower, where the jacket ended and the rough feel of denim met her touch.
“As much as I could really enjoy this,” he called back to her, “if you drop those fingers a few inches lower darlin’, I’ll have to assume you really are planning to become my partner.”
Instantly, her hands let go. He captured one and placed it against his belt. Her cheeks burned at the intimacy and his knowing chuckle. She gave more serious thought to knocking him out of the saddle. Only the knowledge that she needed him stilled her impulse.
She was glad he couldn’t see her expression. With her face pressed against his broad back, and the scent of man, horse, sweat and leather filling her nostrils, they plunged across the uneven ground while her wayward mind churned with all sorts of thoughts she shouldn’t be having.
Penny Archer met them at the front door of the large white house. Despite Rafe’s comment about flannel pajamas, Penny was fully dressed in loose slacks and a blouse with a baggy sweater overtop. Her stylish glasses gave her an efficient look that went with the sharp intelligence in her gaze.
“Ms. Kincade, welcome to the Smoking Barrel. I’m afraid it’s a bit early even for Rosa or Slim, but may I offer you—”
“Nothing. Thank you. I didn’t intend to drop in this way. Especially not at this hour. I’m sorry Rafe got you out of bed.”
Penny Archer raised cynically amused eyebrows in Rafe’s direction. “Yes, that isn’t his general sequence with women.”
Rafe put a hand to his chest. “Another wound to the heart.”
“It would take a cement truck,” she assured him dryly. “How can we help you, Ms. Kincade?”
“I’m afraid Rafe spooked my horse. I need a lift back to the dude ranch where I’m staying. The truth is, I was hoping to speak with Mr. Forbes later today, but I’d planned to call first and ask for an appointment.”
“Kendra knows all about our setup here at the ranch,” Rafe put in.
Penny’s expression didn’t waver. “I’ll tell you what, why don’t you rest here until Mitchell wakes up? I’ll see if he can meet with you after breakfast.”
“Oh, but—”
“It’s no problem, really. We keep a spare room ready for unexpected guests. You can rest until Rosa starts breakfast. You’ll be welcome to join us then. Come with me.”
“But—”
“Cody is on his way in,” Penny informed Rafe as if everything was settled. “I believe he has something he wants you to see.”
Rafe nodded seriously, then added a teasing smile. “Ah, Penny, here I was hoping you had something to show me.”
“Dream on, Rafael,” Penny replied dryly. “See you at breakfast.”
Kendra watched the easy exchange with interest. It was strange to finally meet and observe how these people interacted. Penny was as efficient as Kendra had expected, but her deft ability to handle Rafe’s teasing was interesting and unexpected. Kendra allowed herself to be led up the large winding staircase to a bedroom at the front of the house. Sturdy oak furniture graced a room done in neutral tones of beige and green. Penny Archer indicated the adjoining bathroom and left her there to “rest.”
No key turned in the lock. That did surprise her a bit. These people weren’t fools and they had no reason to trust her. She suspected she wouldn’t get far if she stepped out into the hall. Making use of the bathroom instead, she discovered it connected to another room. A third door probably led into the hall. Judging by the few items neatly stowed in the vanity, she shared the bathroom with Penny.
Kendra returned to the guest quarters and flopped down on the queen-sized bed. She was tired, but too keyed up to sleep. While things weren’t exactly going to plan, she was here, inside the headquarters of Texas Confidential. Now she must convince them that she could be an asset to their plan. It would have been better if she had her laptop, but in the end, it wouldn’t matter. When Rafe entered Rialto’s world, she would be with him—one way or another.
Kendra smothered a yawn and closed her eyes. Maybe she could nap for a few seconds after all.
INNOCENCE SHATTERED at the first dry popping sound. She tasted the dry-edged fear that left its metallic flavor lingering in her mouth. Part of her knew it was hopeless, yet she tried to call a warning to the young girl slowly counting to twenty out of sight beyond the kitchen.
From inside the bottom of the linen closet at the top of the stairs, she had a commanding view of the steps, the main hallway, and part of the kitchen. The pretty blond woman stepped away from the stove and answered the brisk knock on the front door.
“Why, hello. We…weren’t expecting you.”
The shadow man entered, big and burly in his heavy winter coat, snowflakes melting against the dark material. There was a popping sound. The woman crumpled to the floor. At the kitchen table, her husband started rising from his seat. “What the—?” he began, only to slump back down in his chair as two more popping sounds came. His outflung hand struck a glass of cola, spilling the sticky contents across the tabletop. The liquid began to drip, drip, drip against the clean, white tile floor.
In her head, she screamed a warning to the young girl who stopped counting and suddenly entered the kitchen from the dining room, innocently unaware.
Pop. Pop.
She fell like a broken rag doll. The shadow man stepped over her body and into the dining room.
In the closet, she drew herself into a tiny tight ball and closed her eyes. She wished she dared close the closet door all the way, but the metal would make noise. He would see her if she made a single sound. Suddenly, he bounded up the stairs, pausing to check each of the three bedrooms before moving straight for her hiding place.
She held her breath in terror as the closet door groaned open all the way. He rummaged on one of the upper shelves. She opened her eyes, hardly daring to breathe. A blanket fell to the floor in front of her.
She waited in an agony of fear for him to bend and pick it up. Because then he would see her and the popping sound would come again from the strange gun with its long barrel. But he left the blanket, and a towel that landed on top of the blanket, lying there. He turned and pulled off his glove for a moment. The gun hand disappeared from her line of sight. His left hand fell to his side as he stood silently for a moment.
A pretty red stone sparkled in the heavy gold ring he wore on his left hand. She stared at that stone until he pulled his gloves back on and went downstairs again, disappearing from view.
She heard him moving noisily in the basement. He thought he was alone in the house. Silently, she uncurled her body and crept down the stairs. When she paused in the hall she jumped as the woman’s eyes fluttered open.
“Next door,” she whispered. “Get Mr. Lee. Hurry! Run!”
And she heard the shadow man start up the steps from the basement level.
She ran into the living room, ducking behind a chair so he wouldn’t see her. Fear made her chest feel all hard and tight. Her stomach hurt. She was so scared. He would shoot her if he caught her. But he never looked toward her hiding place. Instead, he gazed down on the woman and fired his gun again.
She wanted to scream. She wanted to hurt that horrible shadow man with every fiber of her eight-year-old body, but all she could do was huddle beside the chair, consumed with hate for the man and his shiny red ring and his long, ugly gun.
He strode into the kitchen. She pictured him checking the others. There were no more pops from his gun. Were they dead? Was she the only one left alive inside the once-cozy house?
Then he was gone, out the front door. She rose on legs that trembled violently.
A strange smell had begun filling the house.
She decided not to investigate because he could come back at any minute. She turned to the sliding glass door in the dining room and struggled with the bar lock until she got it open. The smell was stronger. It made her feel really sick. She opened the door and stepped outside, closing the door behind her in case the man came back.
It had started snowing again, she discovered. Big fat white flakes that made her shiver. She wished she had her coat—and her boots. The snow was deep. She was going to ruin her shoes. Stupid thought. That didn’t matter. She had to hurry. She had to go next door. She started running across the pristine expanse of white.
And the world exploded at her back, destroying her life forever.
Chapter Two
Brushing aside the haunted shadows of her dream, Kendra let the aroma of coffee and bacon draw her downstairs. She had slept longer and deeper than she would have guessed possible. The silence of the house unnerved her. Where was everyone?
“Buenos días, señorita.”
Kendra smiled back at the short, plump woman with the cheerful smile and the graying hair pulled back in a bun. This would be Rosa Chavez, the Smoking Barrel’s cook, she decided.
“Buenos días.”
The following spate of dialogue was more than Kendra’s tiny bit of Spanish could follow.
“I’m sorry I don’t understand. No comprende.”
“She wants to know what you’d like for breakfast.”
Kendra’s stomach gave a lurch. She twisted to find Rafe leaning nonchalantly against the door frame leading to the front room. His worn denims and open-necked shirt invited a woman’s gaze to linger appreciatively. Her impression hadn’t been wrong last night. Rafe was dangerously sexy.
“Thank you.” She offered him a polite smile. “I’m not real big on breakfast. Would you tell her juice and toast will be fine?”
His eyes swept her from head to toe. It was all she could do not to blush under that perusal. She was uncomfortably aware of her thinness beneath her slouchy clothing, and her finger-combed hair. She pushed her glasses tighter against the bridge of her nose and waited for him to make some remark. Instead, his expression remained neutral, neither approving nor condemning. He spoke rapid-fire Spanish to Rosa who frowned and nodded, hurrying back out to the kitchen.
“We don’t stand on ceremony around here. Everyone eats in the kitchen.”
“Fine. I don’t like ceremony either. And I can get my own juice and toast. I don’t need to be waited on.”
Rafe came away from the door frame in a sinuous movement of pure grace. “No choice with Rosa manning the kitchen. Come on. I haven’t eaten yet either. I’ll join you.”
Kendra tried not to let her consternation show. With him sitting beside her, she’d likely spill the juice or choke on the toast. She knew it was ridiculous, but Rafe made her unaccountably nervous.
“What about the others?”
“This is a working ranch. Everyone else ate hours ago. Penny checked on you, but you were sleeping so soundly she didn’t have the heart to wake you. You’ll be happy to know that Cody found Settled Sue last night. He returned her this morning. Chet was relieved. He was a little annoyed that you took her in the middle of the night without permission.”
Kendra didn’t respond. She had no defense for the subtle accusation. Instead, as they stepped into the brightly lit, spacious kitchen, she focused on her reason for being here.
“When can I meet with Mitchell Forbes?”
“One o’clock suit you? He’s tied up until then.”
“Yes, of course.”
