Holiday Secrets. Susan Sleeman

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СКАЧАТЬ don’t think Lexie wants to get into the middle of all of that.” Gavin puffed out his chest, his white dress shirt straining at the buttons.

      Irritation shot through her. He’d not only gotten bossy, but he also seemed to think he could make her decisions for her when he had no right.

      “I’ll be glad to come to the ranch,” she said, ignoring Gavin’s disappointed look. “But I want to be sure no one tells Adam about Dad. I want to do it.”

      “Matt’s on duty,” Walt said, mentioning Gavin’s younger brother. “I’ll assign him to pick Adam up. Matt’ll keep it on the down low if I tell him to.”

      Gavin took a sharp intake of air through his nose, his nostrils flaring. He couldn’t have missed his dad’s less-than-subtle message that at least one son listened to him.

      Gavin turned to Lexie. “I’ll round up our horses and we can ride over together.”

      “Little late to be riding, isn’t it?” Walt asked.

      “We both got here just fine on horseback. We can get home the same way.” Gavin eyed his father for a moment as if challenging him to argue.

      Instead, Walt faced Lexie.

      Gavin strode off into the dark.

      “Stubborn boy,” Walt muttered.

      “Gavin’s thirty-five. Not much of a boy anymore.”

      Walt scowled at her and pulled a small notebook from his uniform pocket. “I’m guessing you have a horse trailer nearby as you sure as shootin’ didn’t ride cross-county on your horse.”

      “My truck and trailer are down by the cutoff at Wheeler’s old gas station.”

      “Then I’ll make sure someone escorts you back there at the end of the night and helps you load your horse.”

      One of the things she liked about Walt McKade was that, behind all his bluster and bravado, he had a compassionate side. Despite being ornery at times and tough on his kids, he was a gentleman through and through, and he’d raised his sons to be fine, responsible men.

      “I’m sorry about your father, Lexie,” he said, his words filled with earnest compassion.

      The soft tone coming from such a tough lawman made it even harder to keep tears in check, but Lexie managed it.

      “Thank you,” she said.

      He stroked his salt-and-pepper mustache for a moment as if trying to decide how to move forward. “S’posin you give me the details of what happened tonight.”

      She replayed the night, making sure to include every point she could remember, and he recorded them in his notebook.

      “Did you know before today that your daddy was back in town?” His pen hovered over the page.

      “No. He called after dinner, and that’s the soonest I heard about it.”

      “And he came back just to give you the envelope that was stolen?”

      She shrugged. “The plane was on the ground when I got here, so I don’t know how long he’d been here. He did say he had another appointment, so who knows how many people he talked to before me, or would have after, if he’d lived.” A lump rose to her throat but she swallowed hard. “The shooter mentioned that Dad was going to meet the head of a syndicate.”

      “Syndicate, huh?” Walt made a production of closing his notebook and stowing it with his pen, then tipping his hat back even farther and leaning on the car door. “A syndicate doesn’t on the surface suggest illegal activities, and I’m not at all saying your daddy was involved in something illegal, but being killed in relationship to it is a whole other ball game.”

      She’d been thinking the same thing—that was, when she could forget the horror of seeing him gunned down and think clearly at all. “All I know is it’s not normal for a man to disappear for a month, and when he does resurface, he’s killed.”

      “Agreed. Matt’s already working on tracking down the biker.” He pursed his lips. “We’ve secured the area and I’ve called in the ATF to investigate the explosion.”

      “ATF?” Lexie asked.

      “Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. They investigate bombs and have resources we don’t begin to possess and can pinpoint the type of explosion.”

      “How will that help find Dad’s killer?”

      “Forensic evidence from the bomb could lead us to where the suspect purchased or stole his supplies. Finding that could then lead us to the suspect.”

      “And what will your role be?”

      “My team will work the murder angle and try to locate this syndicate you mentioned. Since we’ve already tried to find a lead as to your father’s disappearance this past month and failed, I’m not sure how successful we’ll be, but I aim to try.” He shifted his duty belt. “I’ll also come up with a plan to make sure you stay safe, sweetheart.”

      “I’d appreciate that.” Her gaze drifted to Gavin, who was standing by the horses, his phone to his ear. She couldn’t help but wish he would stay in town and hunt down this killer. Despite their differences, with his FBI experience, she’d feel safest if he was the one to protect her.

      How crazy was that? He’d walked out on her—left her heart shattered—and here she was, wanting him to protect her. Or was she simply fooling herself? Trying to believe she needed him to keep her safe when in reality she was simply happy to see him again?

      * * *

      Gavin kept Lexie in view as he waited for his supervisor to call back. She still sat in the squad car, but his dad had stepped away. The dome light caught the golden strands of her hair, wavy to her shoulders. Her icy-blue eyes, dark with angst, stared across the field, her arms wrapped around a slender waist. She’d always been a beautiful woman, but it was all he could do not to stare at her and let her know how much simply looking at her impacted him.

      Was she thinking about her father or about their past? He suspected both. Man, he wanted to help her through this, but that was the last thing she would want. He’d hurt her in the worst possible way. He’d acted just like her father and put her second in his life.

      He hadn’t meant for things to end between them, least of all to end so badly. Just like he hadn’t meant to shoot Emily, but he had, and she now had a permanent limp thanks to him.

      His phone rang. Assistant Special Agent in Charge Zachary Harrison’s name flashed on the screen. Gavin quickly answered the call, but took a breath to make sure he displayed the confidence needed for lead agent on the investigation. His first lead. Exactly what he’d planned when he’d taken a series of online business classes so he could be assigned to the white-collar crimes unit, a division with great potential for advancement. Sure, Harrison had made Gavin lead agent on this investigation because of his connection to Lost Creek, but he still felt the need to prove himself.

      He quickly and succinctly explained the latest developments with Dr. Grant. “A syndicate could mean the doctors on our СКАЧАТЬ