The Maverick's Virgin Mistress / Lone Star Seduction. Jennifer Lewis

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СКАЧАТЬ emergency vehicles winked and flashed their lights in the orange half-light. “We need you all in one place.”

      “I’m the owner,” Alex said. “I need to protect my animals.”

      The tall policeman squared his shoulders. “Everyone must be interviewed for the investigation.”

      “What do you mean, investigation?” Alicia squinted through the firelit darkness.

      “It’s early yet, but the fire marshal thinks this fire was deliberately set. They found empty gas containers near where the blaze started.”

      Alicia bit her lip. Who would do this?

      Alex stood up for himself, and as a result he’d made some enemies, but who could hate him—or her—enough to destroy the ranch?

      “Arson?” Alex’s voice rumbled like a train. “If I find out who did it I’ll—”

      “Please, sir. Come this way. We have to take a statement from everyone, and I need your cooperation.”

      Alex blew out a snort of disgust and took Alicia’s hand. “Whoever did this will pay.”

      She kept her mouth shut. No use arguing with him at a time like this. Better to get him out of danger and focus on getting through this awful night.

      They picked their way across the grass. An ember landed on Alex’s shirt and Alicia slapped it out with her palm.

      A strange thought occurred to her. “Didn’t Lance Brody’s place have a fire recently?”

      “There was a blaze at Brody Oil and Gas, yes. That swine had the nerve to accuse me of setting it. As if I would stoop to something like that.” He clucked his tongue.

      She frowned. “If Lance Brody really thinks you burned his building, could he have done this as revenge?”

      She could tell by the look on Alex’s face that he’d already thought of this. The rivalry between Alex and Lance Brody went back all the way to Maverick High School, where they’d jostled for position on the soccer team. The last thing she needed was to fan the flames of that rivalry.

      “I’m sure it wasn’t him.” She waved her hand in the smoky air. “I don’t know why I just said that. Why would a successful businessman get involved in a criminal act?”

      “They have paid flunkeys to do their dirty work,” Alex growled. “I wouldn’t put anything past Lance Brody, or his brother, Mitch. I’ve been a burr under their saddles for years. Maybe this is their way of trying to push me out of town.”

      He turned to the barn, where the roof had now collapsed and flames licked out of the hayloft windows.

      His eyes flashed with a mix of anger and pain. “But no one’s going to run me off El Diablo, and whoever did this will regret the day they were born.”

      At lunch the next day, Alex paced back and forth across the dining room at the ranch, his burger growing cold on the plate.

      “Alicia, it’s not safe for you here right now. If someone’s out to get me, who knows what they’ll try next. You can stay with El Gato.”

      Alicia looked up from her plate as goose bumps spread over her skin. “I’ll be fine here. Besides, you need someone to look after you.”

      She pointed to his plate with her best schoolmarm expression. “Eat your food.”

      “I’m serious, ‘Manita. It’s not safe.”

      “Staying with Paul ‘El Gato’ Rodriquez is what’s not safe. I know you won’t hear a word against him, but everyone knows he’s involved in drug trafficking.”

      Alex grunted as he slid into his chair. “They just don’t like to see a Latino make a lot of money. You’d be shocked if you knew how many people think I’m involved with drugs or guns or something. They don’t think we can make money the old-fashioned way like they do.”

      He took a bite of his hamburger. “That’s why joining the Texas Cattleman’s Club was such a big deal for me. When I’m there, I’m one of them, a member of the club. They have to smile at me and act polite, even if they’d really prefer to see me hang.” He grinned. “I love that.”

      Alicia hated the way her brother still felt like an outsider, even now that he was one of the richest men in the area.

      “You were accepted into the Texas Cattleman’s Club because you’re a man of honor and an upstanding member of Somerset society. You are one of them.”

      “That’s one of the many reasons why I love you, sis. You have such great faith in the human spirit.” He winked as he took a sip of soda. “But you’re still not staying here. El Gato can protect you from anything.”

      “I’m sure he can. He’s probably got nine millimeters stashed in the trunk of his car, but frankly that kind of ‘protection’ makes me nervous.”

      “He’s one of us. When the going gets tough, sometimes it’s better to stick with your own.”

      “I don’t consider a suspected criminal to be one of ‘my own’ in any way.”

      “You know what I mean. When you come from the barrio, you see the world a little differently.”

      “You’re talking as if I didn’t grow up in the same house as you.” Alicia bristled. She hated when her brother treated her like a kid. “I was there, too, remember? I know what hard times are like, and I’m more than glad to have left them behind. You need to get rid of that chip on your shoulder,” she said, still trying to figure out how to change Alex’s mind. “I could go stay with one of the neighbors.”

      Alex narrowed his eyes. “I don’t trust those people. Not right now.”

      “How about Maria Nunez? You’ve known her as long as I have. You let me sleep over at her house when we were in school. I’m sure she won’t mind me staying a few nights.”

      He grunted. “I always suspected that Maria of having a wild streak. Still, her parents are good people. Does she live at home?”

      Alicia laughed. “No. She’s twenty-six years old, remember? She has an apartment in Bellaire. Very safe area.”

      “If she’s not married, she should be at home with her family.” Alex took a swig of coffee.

      “It’s not the nineteenth century anymore, Alex. Deal with it. I’ll call her right away. If she says no, then I’ll go to El Gato, okay?”

      The lie tingled on her tongue for a second, since she had no intention of going anywhere near Paul Rodriquez and his crew of scary henchmen, even if he was Alex’s oldest friend.

      Alex clucked with disapproval. “Stubborn.”

      “Sensible.” She smiled sweetly. “You know I am. Don’t you trust me?”

      Her heart fluttered as she realized he had every reason not to.

      “All right, you СКАЧАТЬ