Against the Odds (23 page)

“All right,” she said, “but I want to be involved in this. I
need to know what you’re planning to do.”

“I’ve got a couple of ideas. I’m hoping these guys can
help.”

Sage reached out and caught Sabrina’s hand. “Come on. Let’s
give the men a little time to brainstorm. Then we’ll listen to what they have to
say and add our own two cents.”

Sabrina just nodded, which told him how worried she was.

“How about that coffee?” Sage asked. “Annie usually keeps a
fresh pot.”

Alex watched the two women walk toward the employee lounge in
the back of the office. Sage was dressed to the nines in a fancy white linen
suit and a pair of superhigh heels. Sabrina wore a pair of baggy jeans and a
boy’s T-shirt.

Crazy thing was, it was Sabrina who held his attention. All he
could think of was getting her somewhere he could strip off the ugly clothes and
bury himself inside her.

There was something about her that just flat-out turned him on,
but more than that, he wanted her safe.

He wasn’t supposed to have those kinds of feelings for a woman.
He sure as hell hadn’t expected it. He never would have believed he’d let
himself get in so deep.

And he wasn’t sure what the hell he was going to do about
it.

Twenty-Five

S
age poured coffee into paper cups and
handed one to Rina. “It’s strong and it’s hot. Annie likes it bracing. That’s
what she calls it.
Bracing.
”

Rina took a sip and hissed at the taste of the thick brew
rolling over her tongue. “Alex makes the best coffee I’ve ever had.”

“Jake likes his so strong you can stand your spoon in it.”

Rina grinned, enjoying this short break from the intrigue
swirling around her. “Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”

“I was there all morning. I’m not working as hard as I did
before I got married, and it feels really good.” With her dark hair pulled back
in a stylish chignon, dressed in a designer suit and very high heels, it was
clear Sage had come from her twelfth-floor executive office at Marine Drilling
International.

Rina looked down at the baggie jeans and souvenir T-shirt and
felt like a lump of coal next to a four-carat diamond.

“I need to go home and get some clothes.” She tugged on the
T-shirt. “This was the best Alex could come up with this morning.”

Sage squeezed her hand. “You look fine.” She reached out and
gently touched the bruise on Rina’s cheek. “You okay?”

“I’m all right. I thought I’d feel worse about the man who got
shot, but I just keep thinking what would have happened if Alex hadn’t killed
him.”

Cup in hand, Sage led her over to a small, Formica-topped
table. They pulled out chairs and sat down.

“This must be terrible for you. Until they catch whoever it is,
you’re practically a prisoner. You’ve never been good at being cooped up.”

“If it weren’t for Alex, I’d already have gone stir-crazy.” She
didn’t mention he’d been keeping her entertained in bed.

“So how are you two getting along?”

She took a sip of her coffee. “The sex is great, but that’s
probably no surprise since he’s had so much practice. The man is
insatiable.”

Sage grinned. “Sounds like the one I’ve got. And aren’t we
lucky girls?”

Rina laughed. It felt good. Since all of this had started, she
had forgotten how to enjoy herself.

“The thing is, Alex is different than I thought. In some ways I
wish he were the man I imagined him to be when I first met him.”

Sage smiled. “An arrogant macho jerk? Wasn’t that what you
called him?”

“Among other things. Instead he’s brave and kind, and he’s
generous.” She looked at Sage over the rim of her coffee cup. “Did you know he
arranged for one of his foundations to take care of my cousin Janie’s doctor
bills? She’s only five years old and she needs a bone marrow transplant. Alex
has people helping her family make the arrangements. It’s all being handled
anonymously. Alex insisted.”

Sage sipped her coffee. “I’m not really surprised. Since I’ve
gotten to know him, I’ve discovered he’s got a very big heart.”

Rina stared down at her cup. “It can’t last, you know. This
thing between us? He’s still searching, still trying to figure out what he wants
out of life. He’s not ready to settle down.”

“Are you?”

Her gaze swung up to Sage. “I don’t...I don’t know. Maybe. With
the right man.”

“Maybe Alex is that man.”

She set her cup down on the table. “I don’t think so. I’d need
someone willing to make a strong commitment to marriage and family. I’d want the
kind of relationship my mother and father had. Alex is a playboy. We’re having a
fling. Both of us understand that.”

“Maybe. I suppose time will tell.”

But she already knew. Where Alex was concerned, time was her
enemy. Once all of this was over, Alex would be ready to move on.

Whether she was ready or not, it would be time for their affair
to end.

* * *

Sitting at the table in the conference room, all of them
sipping cups of the strong black coffee Annie had made, Alex finished going over
the events of the morning, relaying his conversation with Detective Castillo and
his visit to Leon Crutch. He looked up as Sol rapped on the door and peered into
the room.

“Come on in,” Alex said. “What have you got?”

Sol shoved his glasses up on his nose and looked down at the
printout in his hand. “Luis Catano, aka
El Sapo.
The
Toad.” He looked up and grinned. “The Toad. Can you believe these guys?”

“What else?” Alex pressed.

“Catano’s a low-level drug dealer, has a couple of kids by a
woman named Felicity Marquez. Got a rap sheet a mile long, been in and out of
prison since he was fourteen—burglary, drugs, assault, pretty much anything you
can think of.”

“I know who he is,” Ben said. “His name came up when I was
working a case a couple months back. Catano’s a punk with big plans but not
enough brains to back them up. Word on the street is he’ll hire out to do just
about anything, long as the money is good.”

“Got an address for him?” Alex asked.

“Got an address for the girlfriend,” Sol said, rattling off a
street in one of the roughest sections of the city. “That’s where he hangs his
do-rag—or did.” He looked up. “That’s all I’ve got.”

“Let’s see if we can find a connection between Catano and any
of the cousins,” Alex said. “Can you find his cell number?”

“Already got it.

“Check the cousins’ phone records against the number, see if
any of them made a call to Catano in the last few weeks.”

“I’m on it.” Sol turned and headed out the door.

“We need to talk to this Felicity woman,” Ben said.

“That’s where I’m going next.” Alex took a sip of his coffee,
lukewarm now and bitter. He grimaced. Annie made the kind of coffee you could
only stomach when it was hot. “Maybe she’ll give us something we can use.”

“You’re gonna need some backup,” Ben said. “Not a place you
want to go alone.”

Ben was right. Alex turned to Jake. “Okay if I leave Sabrina
with you till we get back?”

“You don’t need to ask.”

Chairs scraped against the floor and the men headed out of the
conference room, Alex anxious to get on his way.

* * *

Rina and Sage walked out of the back room the same time
the men walked into the main part of the office.

Alex caught her shoulders. “Catano had a woman. Ben and I are
on our way to talk to her, and no, you can’t go with us. You need to stay here
with Jake.” He started past her, but she grabbed his hand, turning him to face
her.

“You don’t have to go.” She flicked a glance at Sage. She
hadn’t even told her best friend, but she had been mulling it over for some time
and this morning she had made her decision.

“I’ve thought this through, Alex, and I’ve...I’ve decided to
sign the mine over to my cousins.”

Alex straightened away from her, his features turning hard.
“What are you talking about? That’s bullshit. If you do that, you’re rewarding
them for trying to kill you.”

“Did you see the worry on your sister’s face? You could have
been killed last night. You nearly died in the helicopter crash—we both did. I
couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you because of me.”

His gaze ran over her face and his hard look softened. “It
isn’t time yet to make that kind of decision. There’s still a chance your
cousins aren’t the ones behind the attacks. We need more information.”

She closed her eyes. She wanted to believe her family was
innocent. It was impossible to believe the kids she’d grown up with wanted to
kill her.

Sage reached over and took her hand. “I know you’re scared,
Rina, but Alex is a professional. So are Jake and Ben. Before you do something
you’ll regret, give them a chance to do their job.”

She swallowed the lump that was building in her throat. “I
just...I don’t want anyone getting hurt. I just want all this to be over.”

“Your uncle gave that land to you,” Alex said. “He wanted you
to have it, Sabrina.
You.
Not your cousins. And in
case you’ve forgotten, they may have been the ones who killed him.”

Her insides tightened. She wanted this to end, but not if it
meant Walter’s killer would go free.

Alex tipped her chin up, bent his head and very softly kissed
her. “Have a little faith in me, okay?”

She had enormous faith in him. More than he would ever know.
And she wanted to know the truth. “All right,” she said softly. “For now.”

His hand moved gently over the bruise on her cheek. “Stay with
Sage and Jake. When I get back, we’ll go get your things.”

Then he and Ben were gone.

As Rina stared at the place they had been, the misery she’d
been holding back returned, dragging her down like a soggy blanket.

Sage must have noticed. She turned to Jake. “Okay, big guy. You
ready to go into bodyguard mode?”

He looked warily at his beautiful wife. Even in her six-inch
spike heels, she was far shorter than Jake’s towering frame.

“Rina and I need to do some shopping,” Sage said. “Can you
handle it?”

The corner of Jake’s hard mouth edged up. “I’ve had a little
experience with that. I think I can handle it. And you know how much I love to
shop.”

Rina grinned. Jake hated shopping with a passion. Sage just
rolled her eyes.

“If we’re going out,” Sabrina said, “there’s something I need
to get from my house.”

“What is it?” Sage asked.

“My gun.”

One of Jake’s dark eyebrows went up. “You own a gun?”

“I’m a Texan. What do you think?”

“What kind is it?”

“Twenty-five caliber. And I know how to shoot it so you don’t
have to worry.”

“Twenty-five caliber,” Jake repeated as if she were talking
about a toy. Walking over to his desk, he opened the bottom drawer, lifted out a
holstered weapon, pulled out the pistol inside, checked it, walked back and
pressed it into her hand.

“Thirty-eight revolver. My ankle gun. Just cock it and pull the
trigger. It’s loaded so don’t point it at anyone unless you intend to shoot
them.”

The gun felt heavy, but comforting. She looked it over then
shoved it back into the holster. “Thank you.”

She left the gun with Annie while they went shopping and a few
minutes later, Jake was wearing his big semiautomatic clipped to his belt
beneath his shirt, and they were heading for the University shopping district,
not far away.

It was the best Rina had felt in days.

* * *

Since half the gangbangers in the country drove black
SUVs, they decided to take Ben’s big Denali, which would definitely be less
conspicuous than Alex’s flashy BMW.

When the traffic slowed, Ben reached behind the backseat and
grabbed a faded black T-shirt and a pair of worn jeans with a hole in the knee.
“Put these on. You look like a tourist.”

Alex grinned, started stripping off his clothes. They were
about the same size; though Ben carried ten more pounds, there wasn’t an ounce
of fat on his hard-muscled frame.

Alex dragged on Ben’s well-worn clothes, slid his gun into the
back of the jeans, pulled the disposable phone out of his pocket and tossed the
new jeans he’d been wearing into the backseat.

“I need to make a call.” As the big SUV roared down the
freeway, Alex phoned Sheriff Dickens. The deputy who answered put him straight
through.

“Dickens here.”

“It’s Alex Justice. You got something?”

“Showed your picture of that fella, Rusty Jenkins, around.
Nobody recognized him. Doesn’t look like he’s our man. ’Course, could just be he
was slick enough to get in and out without being seen.”

“Could be. Any new leads?”

“Still working on it.”

“Keep me posted.” He looked up as Ben exited the 59 Freeway and
turned south, heading into the neighborhood where Felicity Marquez lived. Along
the street, the walls of the commercial buildings were covered with graffiti,
and iron bars protected the doors and windows, some of which were broken and
replaced with sheets of plywood.

Kids in ragged clothes played kickball in the middle of the
street; others idly milled around looking sullen and angry.

“Nice place to live,” Ben said dryly.

“It didn’t always look this way.” But the gangs had moved in
and they had no respect for the people who lived there or their property.

“True enough.”

Alex pulled his S&W .45 out from behind his back and
checked the load, shoved the clip back in. A patrol car cruised by, slowed, gave
them the once-over, kept driving.

Through the dark lenses of his wraparound shades, Ben glanced
over at the nav screen on the dash. “GPS shows the address just down the
block.”

They were in more of a residential area, older two-bedroom,
wood-frame houses mixed with seedy apartment buildings. An overturned pink
tricycle lay in the front yard of the house. Ben pulled up in front and turned
off the engine.

Both of them cracked open their doors, got out and headed for
the porch. Alex glanced around, saw no one who seemed interested in their
arrival, climbed the steps and rapped on the screen.

The door was open. Behind the screen he could hear movement,
someone in the kitchen. A little girl sat on the carpet in the living room,
playing with her doll. He knocked again and a woman appeared, started walking
toward them. Ben melted away, disappearing somewhere outside, keeping watch for
any sign of trouble.

Alex held up his wallet, displaying his P.I. badge. “I’m Alex
Justice. I’m a private investigator. I’d like to ask you a couple of questions.
Mind if I come in?”

She was a big woman, not fat, just big-boned, with lots of
curves and heavy breasts. And pretty, with her long black hair and creamy dark
skin. A Hispanic Sophia Loren.

“I know you. I saw you on TV. You’re the man who shot
Luis.”

He should have let Ben talk to her. He’d been hoping she hadn’t
seen the news. No such luck.

“It was self-defense. If you watched the news, you know Luis
and two of his friends attacked me and the woman I was with. Luis tried to kill
me. I didn’t have any choice.”