Long, Tall Texans: Fearless Part 26

"I blew it, didn't I?" he asked quietly. He searched over her face, which had been radiant just for him, those eyes that had loved him, those arms that had clung to him in the darkness. He'd had all that, and he'd pushed it away.

"Don't be melodramatic," she chided, but she wouldn't look at him again. "You know you're happier without ties. Go live your life, Rodrigo. I hope you'll be happy."

"And you?" he asked bitterly. "Will you be happy?"

She raised her eyebrows. "I already am. Kilraven spoils me in every way," she added suggestively.

His sensual lips compressed. "d.a.m.n you!" he said with barely contained violence. "And d.a.m.n Kilraven!"

He turned on his heel and stormed out of the room, leaving a shocked and unsettled Glory behind. When she left the study, he'd already gone home. His final words had been full of fury. She couldn't imagine why.

BEFORE HE COULD GET out the door, still seething about Glory's abrupt dismissal of him from her life, Jason Pendleton stepped in front of him. He wasn't smiling.

"Come in here for a minute," he said, indicating the living room, temporarily devoid of people.

"I'm in a hurry..."

"This won't take long."

Rodrigo composed himself with visible effort and followed the other man into the room.

Jason closed the door. He'd never looked more menacing. "What do you know about Glory?"

"Nothing, apparently," Rodrigo replied.

"Perhaps it's time you heard a few facts," the other man said curtly. "Sit down."

By the time Jason had shared the bare bones of Glory's past with him, Rodrigo was pale and sicker at heart than he'd been since his sister's death. He'd known about Glory's hip, but no more. Considering her childhood, it was amazing to him that she'd been able to respond to him in bed. It was proof, if he needed it, of how much she'd loved him.

He leaned forward, his forearms propped on his knees, his head in his hands. "She never told me any of that."

"She's very proud," Jason replied. "We've sheltered her as much as we could. I didn't want her in Jacobsville in the first place, but the D.A. convinced me that if she stayed here, we'd bury her. I don't understand why you couldn't leave her alone and let her do her job. I never thought of you as a cruel person."

"I never thought of myself that way." He lifted his head. "I wanted her. She had a quality of compa.s.sion that I'd never encountered in any woman, other than my partner, Sarina. She obsessed me."

Jason's expression gave nothing away. "The child she lost was yours, wasn't it?"

He nodded. "I knew nothing about the child until I tried to have divorce papers served on her."

"Yes. The marriage." He c.o.c.ked his head. "That came as a shock."

"For me, too. It wasn't until the divorce was final that I realized what I'd given up." He s.h.i.+fted. "You and Gracie were at the hospital to see Glory, weren't you? I'd never seen your mysterious stepsister. I never connected either of you with Glory."

"It took us a long time to win her trust. We love her very much. No child should ever have to go through what she did."

"What about those two boys who a.s.saulted her?" Rodrigo asked with bridled fury.

Jason pursed his lips. "Someone informed on them when they partic.i.p.ated in a drug deal. I can't imagine who. There was tape and photos, too. They drew fifteen years each."

"Not enough, but a start," Rodrigo muttered.

"That's not all. Somehow it got mentioned to the other inmates that they'd sodomized a little girl in foster care. The last I heard, they had to live in solitary confinement for their own protection."

"My heart breaks," Rodrigo replied, but he was smiling faintly.

"What's that old saying, that G.o.d's mill grinds slowly but relentlessly? Justice is eventually served."

Rodrigo's eyes saddened. "I've already had mine. I'll spend the rest of my life grieving for what I threw away. Glory will never forgive me. I can't even blame her."

Jason's eyes narrowed. "You're in love with her."

Rodrigo's face closed up. He got to his feet. "I'm going out of the country tomorrow, to meet with my cousin over the border. He phoned me and said he has intelligence on an upcoming operation run by some ex-feds and a couple of gang members from El Salvador. They're the ones who helped set up Walt Monroe, one of our DEA agents who went undercover, so that another man could kill him." His dark eyes flashed. "We want them very badly."

Jason scowled. "Does your cousin often phone you about drug deals?"

Rodrigo shrugged. "He hasn't before, but this is a special case. I asked him to keep his eyes open when I heard that some gang members we'd been investigating were going to be in on the buy."

"One of my vice presidents was nabbed when he went over the border to talk to some businessmen about oil investments. The government doesn't bargain with kidnappers, but we had to. We got him out with a sizable donation, but he'll never look the same," he added darkly. "They're helping to finance their operations with ransom these days. You'd be a tasty catch, especially if they found out you were instrumental in that last cocaine bust."

Rodrigo waved the concern away. "I've been at this for a long time. I can take care of myself."

"Our hostage told us that they've got a pipeline right into the DEA's office."

"They did have, a guy named Kennedy, but he's in prison."

"Not Kennedy," came the terse reply. "Someone else. A great deal of money is involved. They're buying inside information. Don't share your plans with anyone in your organization."

Rodrigo frowned. This was disturbing news. "I'll check into it," he said after a minute. Then he chuckled. "If they do nab me, Cobb will probably offer congratulations. He was furious that I was undercover during one of his cleanup operations and he didn't know about it. It was his office I ransacked after my sister was killed. We're wary of each other."

"I heard about some of your exploits from Glory," Jason replied. "You were all she talked about when she came back from Jacobsville."

That only made the pain worse. He grimaced. "When she's better, tell her I'm sorry that I brought on this attack." His dark eyes flashed. "She seems to be attached to Kilraven lately. I don't like it."

Jason began to see the light. "She's fond of him," he told the other man. "Only fond."

There were layers of meaning in those few words. Rodrigo felt a little better. "When I get back, I'm going on the attack," he said. "Roses, chocolates, mariachi serenades, the works. Right outside the courtroom, if that's what it takes."

Jason actually grinned. "Can I tell her?"

"Better not. The element of surprise might work wonders." Rodrigo smiled, and shook the other man's hand. "Thanks. For everything."

"You should never have signed those divorce papers."

"You're telling me," Rodrigo sighed.

GLORY SETTLED BACK INTO her routine, forced herself to take her medicine more regularly and began to enjoy life again, even if it had less flavor after Rodrigo's exit. Late at night when she closed her eyes, she could still feel his lips kissing away the tears, hear him whispering "beloved" in Spanish at her ear. The only comfort she had was his fury over Kilraven. If that wasn't jealousy, she was a porcupine.

She knew he'd gone overseas. She didn't know where, or why. She hoped he wasn't risking his life in another sting. She wondered where he was. She found out unexpectedly, a week later, just a little while past Thanksgiving.

Marquez came to her office to tell her in person. He was solemn and uneasy, and he hesitated.

"Well?" she asked, curious.

"It's about Ramirez."

Her heart jumped but she forced herself to remain calm. "He's getting married to the woman who cooks him paella?" she asked, bracing herself.

"No. He's been kidnapped," he said curtly. "He went down into Mexico on an informant's tip, and he was nabbed by Fuentes's brother."

"For ransom," she said slowly.

"Only partially for ransom," he replied. "Mostly for revenge. Glory!"

Marquez got her into a chair before she pa.s.sed out. "I shouldn't have put it like that. I'm sorry," he said. "What can I do for you?"

"Get me something cold and fizzy from the machine in the hall," she said weakly. "But no caffeine."

"Right. Back in a jiffy."

She felt terrible. Rodrigo had been kidnapped. Her life was over. They might ask for ransom, but she was certain that they'd kill him anyway. It was her fault. If she'd asked him to stay, perhaps he would have. She'd wrapped herself in pride and indignation and tossed him out the door. He would die horribly. She'd never see him again. She'd be his murderer...!

No! No, she wasn't going to sit here and cry and give him up without a fight. She sat up straight. She wiped the tears away. This was no time for hysterics and self-condemnation. That wouldn't help. Rodrigo was in trouble and she had to save him. The government wouldn't negotiate, she knew that. His own agency wouldn't be able to do anything for him. If he was to be rescued, she'd have to do it. She wasn't going to take this lying down. Those murderers weren't going to kill Rodrigo.

She picked up the phone and dialed her stepbrother. "Jason, Rodrigo's been kidnapped. I know who to send after him. I need money. They can't work for free."

"You can have a blank check," Jason replied at once. "And anything else you need."

"Thanks."

"He's family, too," came the enigmatic reply.

She hung up and looked over at Marquez, who'd just come back with a cold can of soda. He handed it to her and she sipped it gratefully before she spoke. "I need you to go to Jacobsville with me. I'm going to hire a few good men to get my ex-husband back."

His eyebrows arched. "Any particular reason for that?"

"Yes." She got up and retrieved her purse and coat from the hat rack. "We said goodbye in the middle of an argument we didn't get to finish. He's not winning by default."

She walked out the door, leaving a silently amused Marquez to follow.

16.

GLORY WAS FASCINATED by the immediate agreement she got from Cy Parks, Eb Scott, and several of their colleagues when she talked to them about rescuing Rodrigo.

"He was with us in Africa," Cy said simply.

"And in the Middle East with Dutch, Archer and Laremos to protect a friend of ours who heads one of the sheikdoms near the Persian Gulf."

"Colby Lane would go in a heartbeat," Cy added. "Rodrigo saved his life."

"Not with his wife pregnant, he won't," Eb mused with a smile. "He's very protective of her."

"We've got enough people to pull it off, already," Cy remarked. "Including one very competent federal agent."

"Who?" Glory asked.

"Sorry, that's 'need to know,'" Eb said. "Just take my word for it that he's one man no kidnapper wants to tangle with."

Cy smiled down at Glory. "We'll take it from here," he said.

"I want to go with you," she protested.

He shook his head. "This is an operation for people who train constantly. You want Rodrigo alive. If you go along, and we have to watch out for you, the distraction could cost him his life."

She sighed. "Okay. I won't interfere." Her green eyes were wide and sad. "We said our goodbyes before he left, and they weren't happy ones. For the record, my stepbrother contacted you and asked you to go get Rodrigo. It's better if he never knows I was involved at all."

Cy frowned. "You were married."

Her eyes slid away. "It was an impulse that he regretted." Her tone grew cold. "He needs a woman who can share the life he leads, not one who'd hold him back and make him more bitter than he already is. He's got someone in Houston, anyway. She's young, and very pretty. I was never in the running."

Cy looked as if he wanted to argue the point, but he saw that it would do no good. "It's your call."

"Jason said to call him," she added. "He'll make arrangements for whatever sort of equipment you need." She hesitated. "You aren't going?" she worried. "You have a young son..."

He grinned. "I'd never get out of the house alive," he agreed. "No, this is a job for younger men. He-" he indicated Eb Scott "-has a compound full of young hotheads in his counterterrorism training unit who live for the adrenaline rush of danger. Our fed will take a team of them in to rescue Rodrigo."

"They'll have to cross into Mexico," she began worriedly.

"Stop being a lawyer," Eb told her amusedly. "As it happens, Rodrigo is related to some important people in the Mexican government. I'm sure I can get permission from them, and they will offer to help in the form of a military unit. Fuentes's brother is in more trouble than he could imagine."

"Tell them to slug him once for me, will you?" she added. "I've had enough of the Fuentes bunch to last me a lifetime."

"I'll make your wishes known," he promised.

She stood at the door, looking suddenly vulnerable. "Someone will let me know...what happens?"

"Yes," Cy said at once.

She nodded. "Thanks," she added huskily.

Cy smiled gently. "You're welcome."