Lone Star Justice (22 page)

When he tried to move to the side, she held him fast. He wasn't too heavy for her. His weight and warmth felt so good, she wished she could stay like this forever. But far too soon, he lifted himself off of her and rolled to the side, bringing her with him.

Neither one said a word. There was no need to talk. The connection was still there. It was as though mere weeks had passed since they'd last made love, not years. His body had filled out, muscled up, but it still fit hers perfectly. Like they were soul mates, if there was such a thing.

Was there a chance, no matter how small, that they might find their way back to the love they'd once shared? Or was the distance too much, time too far gone? Did Rand even want a family? Or was he a confirmed bachelor who liked his life as it was? Quiet, uncomplicated, peaceful.

Finally, sometime in the wee hours of the morning, Maddie fell asleep, wrapped in his arms, feeling safe for the first time in years.

CHAPTER TEN

When Maddie woke a few hours later, she realized he'd made her want far more than she'd asked for. Not just the for-old-time's-sake sex, but he'd made her want what they'd lost, what they should have--could have--had. A life together, a family, a future.

He'd fallen asleep with his hand on her breast, his legs entwined with hers. She tried to extricate herself without waking him, but his eyes opened the moment she moved.

"Don't go."

Two simple words. Not the words she most wanted to hear, but enough for now.

"I have to. Brandy will be waking up soon and I don't want her to get the wrong idea."

His brows drew together. "And what idea would that be?"

Maddie slid off the bed and gathered up her discarded clothing. "I don't want her to think we're getting back together. That's what she wants most, but with you here and us in Montgomery, it's not possible."

She pulled her panties on, Rand watching her closely.

"Y'all could move back here." He tossed the covers back and she couldn't tear her gaze away. He had a magnificent body. Broad shoulders, narrow waist, muscular legs and arms. An early-morning erection.
Breathtaking
.

She pulled her top on and slid her legs into the pajama bottoms, letting her hair hang over her face so he couldn't see how much she wanted to climb back in that bed with him. "No. I have a home, a career in Montgomery. Brandy has friends she loves."

Rand pulled his boxers back on. "I could move there."

That brought her head up. "You would do that?"

He shrugged, then shook his head. "I wish I could. But I have the ranch, my job." He shoved a hand through his hair.

Her heart broke just a little. She couldn't expect him to give up everything she refused to give up herself. So that was that. They'd made new lives, hundreds of miles apart.

She would hold the memories of their time together forever. It would have to be enough.

Maddie nodded, choking back the pain. "I have to go."

She fled from his room without looking back.

By the time, she'd showered and dressed, she'd cried herself out. It was too late for regrets. And honestly, she didn't regret making love to Rand one last time. They'd had a few hours where time slipped away and they were just two people who had loved each other once. To wish they could again was a waste of energy.

She carefully applied her makeup, something she hadn't bothered with these last few days. But it covered the ravages of a sleepless night and the crying she'd indulged in, though she hated giving in to that kind of weakness. She almost never cried anymore.

She brushed her hair a little harder than necessary and curled the ends under with a curling iron. Her movements were jerky, her mind distracted, and she burned her ear with the iron. Tears welled up, but she blinked them back and bit her lip until the pain subsided.
Stupid. You can't afford to be careless. That's just the kind of weakness Aaron is looking for. Pay attention!

She continued to lecture herself as she dressed.
Keep your guard up, don't let yourself get hurt. If you do, it's your own fault. He'll win if you aren't careful.

She didn't know if she was thinking about Aaron, or Rand.

At the moment, both seemed equally dangerous. One to her life, the other to her heart.

***

She found Rand and Brandy in the kitchen when she went downstairs. She stopped in the doorway and watched for a moment. Heads close together, they laughed at a shared joke as Rand scrambled eggs and Brandy stirred a pan of gravy.

The smell of cooked bacon and baking biscuits made her stomach growl. "Sure smells good," she said lightly, a smile pasted on her face. Inside, her heart ached at the sight of the two of them. Would Brandy want to return to Oklahoma with her when the time came, or would she choose to stay with Rand? She was old enough to make that decision, though it would break Maddie's heart if Brandy chose her father instead of her.

Brandy looked over her shoulder and smiled. For the first time in days, she looked well rested and carefree. If only she could always be that way, but life was a bitch and it snatched happiness away as easily as it gave it. Maddie had learned that lesson the hard way.

Rand was quiet as they ate, deep in thought. Maddie had to say his name twice to get his attention. "Rand? Is something wrong?"

He sighed and said, "I talked to the FBI this morning. They want me to respond to Aaron's message, pretending to be Brandy. They're going to set up a trap and I'm supposed to lure him in. But what if something goes wrong? What if he outsmarts me again and gets to one of you? I'm not sure I could handle it if anything happened to either one of you."

Brandy slid her hand into his. "You'll keep us safe, Dad. I know you will."

"We'll stick together until he's caught." Maddie took Brandy's other hand. "We can't live the rest of our lives in fear. We have to do whatever it takes to put an end to this." She looked at Brandy. "Agreed?"

Brandy nodded. "This is all my fault. If only I hadn't disobeyed you in the first place, he wouldn't have found us."

"I think you've learned your lesson. But if he hadn't found us, he would have killed someone else. We have to end it, here and now. For us, and for Anne."

Rand reached across the table and took her free hand. For a moment, they were a circle, unbreakable. A family.

All too soon the circle was broken when Rand returned to his office to complete the details and put the plan in motion.

One way or another, it would soon be over.

***

"Okay, we're all set. The FBI is sending an undercover team who will move into the house and pretend to be the two of you. With wigs and makeup, they say the team will pass scrutiny until Aaron's already committed to action. We'll move out tonight when it's dark, as soon as they arrive and get set up. You'll remain hidden until this thing is done." Rand paced back and forth in front of the fireplace as he laid out the details of the plan. "I have to stay here so he thinks everything is normal, but you'll have a protective detail who will keep you safe."

"I don't want a protective detail," Brandy complained. "I want you."

"I know, honey. But if I'm not here, in plain sight, he'll know something's wrong. Cody will be with you, along with two FBI agents and a couple of deputies. There's no way Aaron could get to you, even if he knew where you were." Rand hoped that was true. He had to trust his men to keep them safe or he would go crazy.

They spent a tense afternoon watching old movies, playing pool, and baking cookies. When it was finally dark outside, they waited for the FBI team to arrive, resisting the temptation to look out the windows. The pair would arrive with the usual team of deputies during their normal shift change, hiding in the back seat. The tricky part would be getting them into the house and getting Maddie and Brandy out without being seen.

When the squad car arrived, Rand went to the door and walked out onto the porch, like he did every night. The FBI team, dressed all in black, slid out of the car and made their way around the side of the house to the back, where Maddie let them inside. While Rand briefed the deputies, Maddie and Brandy quickly changed clothes with the undercover team and retraced their steps, sliding silently into the back seat of the squad car.

The deputies who'd been on duty during the day drove away, taking Maddie and Brandy with them.

Rand watched until the car turned onto the county road, then went back inside. It took everything he had in him to watch his family leave without him.
His family. If only
…

Time to get to work. By morning he would either have Aaron in custody, or he'd make sure the bastard was dead.

***

Fools. Did they really think he would fall for such an amateurish switch? He knew there was no way the sheriff would let Brandy text him back, so he'd been watching closely to see what Rand planned to do. He knew there would be a trap.

But he had a trap up his sleeve as well.

Maddie would be his by morning. Never again would a woman threaten him and live to tell the story.

His mother had threatened to tell his father when she'd caught him watching her in the shower. Stupid bitch. She never got the chance to tell. He'd found the potassium chloride in his father's home office and injected a massive dose between her toes while she slept. She'd woken up, of course, and he had the pleasure of seeing the panic in her eyes before she died.

He should have cut out her tongue, but he didn't think of it until later. By the time his father found her body, Aaron was at the cabin and had a nice string of catfish ready as an alibi. His father pronounced her dead from natural causes and no one ever suspected. His father knew, but he'd never told anyone. Most likely he was glad to see her go, as well.

Aaron made his way back across the street to the car he'd hidden in the woods. With the lights off, he pulled onto the road and raced to catch the taillights disappearing in the distance.

***

Maddie held Brandy's hand in the back seat. Her back hurt from lying in an awkward position, but they weren't allowed to sit up until they'd reached their destination--where ever that was. Rand had left nothing to chance. Only he, the FBI, and the deputies knew where they were headed.

The inside of the car went completely dark as they entered some kind of garage, then it stopped and a door closed behind them. "Okay, we're here. Give me a minute to check things out inside, then we'll get you settled." The deputy riding shotgun climbed out of the car and closed the door.

They were finally allowed out of the car and escorted into a house. "Where are we?" Maddie asked. The house was large and open, but all the windows were covered in heavy blackout drapes.

"The house belongs to a local eccentric who is out of town right now. He's into preparedness, so the house boasts a safe room. Seemed the safest place to keep you."

"Does he know we're here?" Maddie didn't want to take over someone's house without their permission. Seemed like an invasion of privacy, somehow."

"Yes, Rand secured his permission by phone. He said to make yourselves at home."

"You're not leaving, are you?" The idea of being in a strange house alone bothered her a lot more than it should have.

"No ma'am. Our orders are to not let either of you out of our sight, and there are four additional officers outside at each corner of the house. Cody Wills should be here soon, as well."

Brandy wandered around the bar and into the kitchen. She looked in the refrigerator, the pantry, and opened and closed cabinet doors. "I'm hungry," she whined.

"Cody is bringing food and soft drinks. It shouldn't be very long. Might as well watch television or something until he gets here." The deputy picked up a remote and pushed a button. What Maddie thought was a blank wall lit up and a documentary about wild animals appeared.

"Oh, great. " Brandy flopped onto the leather couch with a dramatic sigh. "Why couldn't we stay at Rand's? At least he had stuff to do there."

Maddie opted for a recliner, and thought she would sink all the way to the floor in the soft leather. "What does this guy do for a living? I could never afford this kind of luxury."

The deputy laughed. "He made a bunch of money in the dot com boom and had sense enough to get out before the crash. Wait until you see the safe room. Every kind of high tech gadget you can imagine, it's in there."

The door to the garage opened and Cody stepped inside, holding several boxes of pizza. "I didn't know what kind you liked, so I got one of just about everything." He set the pizzas on the bar and sent the deputies out to bring in the drinks and snacks. "I just talked to Rand and he said to tell you they'll be leaving for the meeting place in a few minutes. As soon as you've had a chance to eat, I'm supposed to take you to the safe room and keep you there until we get the all clear."

Brandy arranged the pizzas in a line along the bar, then chose a slice from four different ones. Then she helped the deputies fill paper cups with ice and poured the drinks. "Almost like a regular party," she said with just a hint of sarcasm. "I'm so tired of all this."