The Danger Within. Valerie Hansen

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ

      Prologue

      “We have to be careful, El Jefe.”

      “Now you think of that? I told you not to trust an amateur like Ritchie Stark with a job as important as taking care of Mayor Vance.”

      “It’s not my fault. Everything would have been fine if Ritchie hadn’t brought in one of his flunkies to do the job instead of handling it himself.”

      “Fine? Hah! The guy botched it. Twice. And that nurse saw him the second time. She can identify him.”

      “Chloe Tanner? Not necessarily. He hit her pretty hard. We can’t be positive how much she remembers.”

      “All the same, now that she’s tied up with that FBI man it’s even more dangerous for us. We need to eliminate any witnesses who can lead the Feds back to us.”

      “Well, don’t look at me! I have a reputation to protect.”

      “Never mind,” The Chief, El Jefe’s Anglicized code name, rasped angrily. “I’ll do it myself, starting with that idiot friend of Ritchie’s.”

      “We mustn’t act foolishly. I know you want success as much as I do but we must not call undue attention to this situation. Right now, everyone is concentrating on the mayor’s condition, hoping he’ll come out of the coma and be able to help the police. If there are more accidents or deaths associated with him, someone may suspect a conspiracy.”

      The Chief snorted. “If they do, it’ll be the first intelligent conclusion they’ve come to.”

      “Still…”

      “I’ll be careful. This time, it’ll look like an accident. Like you said, I want this plan to succeed. And you’re going to help me.”

      “My pleasure. The sooner you get what you want and make us both even richer, the happier I’ll be.”

      “There’s more at stake here than merely a fortune in drugs. I have a score to settle with the Vance and Montgomery families. Nothing is going to stop me.”

      “Or me,” his companion added.

      “Good.” His laugh was sinister and guttural. “Because I would give up my life itself, if I knew my enemies would die with me.”

      Chapter One

      Layla Dixon lifted her face to the sun, closed her eyes and stood motionless, basking in the clean, welcoming feel of the high country. Of all the places she’d been, this part of Colorado came the closest to feeling like home. It truly was “God’s Country.”

      She sighed, smiled. It had been a good idea to wander in this direction. After all, it wasn’t as if she intended to stick around very long. The minute she was made to feel unwelcome, she was history.

      She zipped her down-filled vest as she glanced at the hopeful blue heeler waiting for her to let him out of the cab of her pickup. If Colorado Springs hadn’t been on the front range of the Rockies where the climate was warmer, the icy chill of early February would have been unbearable. As it was, her breath clouded around her head and her boots squeaked on the thin sheet of snow that dusted the sidewalk.

      She opened the passenger side door and ruffled the dog’s mottled gray ears. “You wait in the truck, Smokey. I’ll bring you back a snack, okay?”

      The sad look she got in return made her chuckle. “That won’t work this time, old boy. This is for your own good.”

      He lunged, trying to lick her face.

      Layla ducked and laughed. “I’m not changing my mind. I don’t care how many kisses you give me.” Hugging the dog’s muscular neck she told him, “You’re such a good boy. I’m so glad we met when we did. I needed a buddy.”

      The dog wiggled and panted happily in response. Holding up her hand, palm out, she commanded, “Stay,” and backed away, closing the door. The windows were down enough for ventilation and the sun was shining in a cloudless sky. Smokey would probably be more comfortable than she was.

      Shivering, Layla lifted her scarf to cover her head and wrapped her arms around herself, bangle bracelets jingling. Good thing she was familiar with this area and knew how to dress. She hadn’t given up her trademark flowing skirt and favorite silver jewelry but she had been smart enough to slip on sweatpants under the skirt and switch from moccasins to boots. Image was one thing. Freezing to death for the sake of style was another. If her parents had taught her anything, it was to conform to the dictates of nature and go with the flow instead of complaining.

      Michael Vance clomped into the Stagecoach Café and shrugged out of his fleece-lined leather jacket before wending his way to his usual table.

      He’d kind of hoped café owner Fiona Montgomery would be busy in the kitchen. No such luck. He could see he was in for an inquisition, starting right now. Bright red hair fluffed, grin in place, she was headed straight for him.

      “Michael! What brings you into town?”

      He snorted as he laid his black felt Stetson on the empty chair beside him. “What doesn’t. It’s been one of those weeks.”

      “Uh-oh. It’s only Tuesday.”

      “Tell me about it.”

      Fiona slid her ample self into the chair across from him and leaned her elbows on the table. “Sounds like you’d better tell me. How are things on the Double V? Any word from your foreman?”

      Though it wasn’t Michael’s habit to confide in the local telegraph-in-a-waitress’s uniform, he figured it might be for the best in this case. “No. Ben’s still missing. The police suspect he had problems with drugs again but I can’t believe it. He’d been clean and sober for years, even before I hired him.”

      “How’s that Hector Delgato guy working out in Ben’s place?”

      “He’s okay, I guess. Kind of quiet and moody but he does his job. I heard he has an eye for the ladies. You’d better watch out.” Michael gave Fiona a wink.

      “Humph. I can handle myself. I’ve been married to Joe long enough to get all the practice handling unruly men that I’ll ever need.”

      Michael chuckled. “It wouldn’t have been any better if you’d married a Vance. That’s exactly what Aunt Lidia always says about Uncle Max.”

      “Poor man. I heard he’s still in a coma.”

      “Yeah. I stopped at Vance Memorial before I came here. It’s tough to see him like that.”

      “Lidia seems to be holding up okay, considering. I offered to let her come back and cook for me if she wanted, thought she might need the distraction. But she’s spending every spare minute at the hospital, holding Max’s hand. That’s understandable.”

      “Yeah.” Michael ran his fingers through his hair. “All my troubles put together don’t amount to a hill of beans compared to theirs.”

      “I know you’re worried about Ben and Max but I get the impression there’s СКАЧАТЬ