Undercover Texas

Chapter Eight



The sheriff’s vehicle squealed away from the shoreline. Hunter ducked down and held Erin next to him.

When they’d cleared the majority of civilization, he raised his head.

“So, Hunter, wanna tell me what the hell you’ve gotten yourself into?” Blake asked.

“Not really.”

“Good thing I trust Hunter or I’d kick you to the asphalt.”

Blake turned on his lights and hit the accelerator. They made good time to Carder. Only about three o’clock.

They passed through both of the stoplights in Carder, Texas, and Blake pulled up outside a nondescript brick house Hunter had visited only a few months after Brandon had been born.

“Logan told me you had business with Exley,” Blake said once the vehicle stopped. “If you want it done today, we’re up against closing time. The old guy generally takes off around three.”

Hunter could tell the sheriff didn’t like not knowing what was going down in his town. Well, the local lawman would have to stay unhappy. “Thanks. We’ll only be a minute.”

Hunter turned in the seat. Brandon was asleep and hopefully would stay that way for a while. “I need you to come in with me, Erin.”

She nodded.

“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Blake offered.

Erin slipped out of the backseat and took Hunter’s hand. “What are we doing here?”

“I learned about Brandon soon after he was born,” Hunter said.

She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and stared at him. “How?”

“Do we have to discuss this now?”

She planted her hands on her hips. “I’m not walking into that office without an explanation.”

“I missed you,” Hunter said, trying to figure out how he could possibly explain leaving her alone to give birth to and raise their son by herself. “I came back and saw you when you were about seven months pregnant. I started keeping track, making sure you were okay.”

Erin shook her head and stared at him. “My God, do you know how frightened I was, how terrified? I was all alone in the world, with a baby and no family, and you were just watching?” She paced back and forth. “Why?”

“Because I knew that if I tried to be with you, I could get you killed,” Hunter said through clenched teeth. “You think I didn’t want to be there?” He gripped her arm. “I wanted you, Erin. I still want you, but in my profession I’ve made enemies. Powerful enemies. If they ever connect us, they could use you and Brandon to get to me. I couldn’t take that chance.”

He might have been able to take anger, but the hurt expression in her eyes gutted him to the core. “So you knew about us. Why are we here?”

“I wanted to make certain if something happened to me, you and Brandon were taken care of. I set up a trust for our son. Now, since you will have a new identity, I need to give you everything.”

Erin rubbed her eyes with her hands. “Fine,” she said, her tone devoid of emotion. “Let’s just get it done.”

He rubbed at the tension in his neck, working its way up into his scalp. A supersized headache threatened, but at least she hadn’t refused his gift. He’d wondered if she might. He’d expected her to. Had she finally come to accept the reality of the situation? Hunter studied her set jaw. He couldn’t read her reaction, and that worried him.

With a sigh, he pushed open the door to the lawyer’s office and stepped inside.

A horrible smell overcame him. One he recognized all too well.

Erin slapped her hand over her mouth and backed away. “Oh, my God, what is that?”

Hunter palmed his weapon from the small of his back then pushed Erin out the door. “Go get the sheriff.” He paused. “Erin? Do you still have the gun I gave you?”

She nodded.

“Get it out. And stay with Brandon.”

Her features pale, but determined, Erin raced to the car while Hunter scanned the receptionist’s area. The room was immaculate—and empty.

Nothing seemed out of place except for the absolute quiet, and the scent of a decaying body.

Any other time, Hunter might have called out, but the current situation was anything but normal. His internal radar had gone into overdrive.

Footsteps thundered behind Hunter. Sheriff Blake Redmond let out a loud curse. He clicked his radio. “I need backup at Exley’s. And get the coroner’s office over here.”

Blake sidled up to Hunter. “This is a crime scene. What do you think you’re still doing in here?”

“Look, Sheriff, you don’t know me, but I need to do a quick search.”

Blake grabbed Hunter’s collar. Hunter let him. “Why should I? Why shouldn’t I take you in for questioning since you wanted to see Exley, and now somebody in his office is dead?”

Hunter met the sheriff’s gaze. “Look, Logan trusts you, and I’m asking for your help. If you care anything about saving those innocent lives sitting in your car, I need to know why Exley died.”

Blake stared Hunter down. “You have five minutes. And you’re not leaving my sight.”

“Deal,” Hunter said.

He crossed over to the door leading into Exley’s office. Blake handed him a pair of gloves. Hunter slipped them on, turned the knob and pushed inside.

The scent wasn’t as bad as some of the killing fields from the worst assignments overseas, but he choked on the odor just the same.

A woman’s legs stuck out from behind the desk.

“Oh, man, it’s Mrs. Exley. She was her husband’s receptionist. Didn’t trust all the pretty young things, she used to say,” Blake commented.

Hunter rounded the desk. The woman’s neck had been snapped. Even summer decomposition didn’t hide the angle of her head. And Hunter knew exactly the move the perp had used.

Damn it.

Now that he was behind the desk, he saw the white-haired lawyer’s body. It was hard to tell given the state of the body, but blood caked the side of the poor guy’s head.

“Look at the corner of the desk,” Hunter pointed out.

Blake looked around the room. “Nothing much has been touched except this drawer.”

Something sank in the pit of Hunter’s belly. When he’d visited Exley to sign Brandon’s trust paperwork, the man had pulled Hunter’s file from that location.

He peered into the open drawer. A file labeled Clay Griffin sat empty, except for a small piece of paper inside.

Before Blake could stop him, Hunter snagged the sheet.

Hunter Graham.

He let out a solid curse.

“What is it?” Blake asked, and looked at the slip in Hunter’s hand. “Damn it. You’re messing with evidence.”

“This won’t help you, Sheriff. You won’t find the murderer.” He pocketed the slip of paper.

Blake’s jaw throbbed. “You know who did it.”

Hunter stared at the man and his wife who had never done anything to anyone. By asking Exley for help, he’d effectively signed the couple’s death warrant.

If Hunter had held out any hope that he might find a way to be with Erin and Brandon, that flicker had been put on ice.

Whoever had done this had known exactly who they were looking for. Otherwise the room would have been in shambles. No, they knew the name Clay Griffin. Now they had not only connected Clay Griffin to Hunter Graham, but they had also connected him to Erin and Brandon Jamison. There were a dozen terrorist organizations that wanted Hunter dead. And now they had the leverage they wanted.

Everything General Miller had warned Hunter about had come true.

His boss had been right. He couldn’t afford a family. Not now. Not ever.

“Don’t just stand there. Who killed them?”

“I don’t know, Sheriff.” Another truth. “What I do know is that all my plans to protect those two in your car have been blown all to hell.”

* * *

ERIN COULDN’T BELIEVE THE subterfuge that Hunter had engineered. They’d driven to a nearby town and back, switched cars twice and now she and Brandon sat in the backseat of a gray SUV that seemed to disappear against the dusky sky.

Brandon had fallen asleep and after the past few days he was probably out for the night. Thank goodness.

Hunter’s entire body had been on high alert since he’d come out of the lawyer’s office. She still couldn’t believe the poor man and his wife had been murdered, but the cold look in Hunter’s eyes terrified her.

He turned onto a dirt road, and they bounced across the landscape.

“Where are we going now?” she asked, unable to keep the fatigue from her voice.

“Someplace safe, I hope. At least until I can arrange to get you permanently away from here.”

Erin leaned her head back against the seat. “These plans of yours get more and more complicated, Hunter. Why can’t we just stop? Surely the government agency you work for can help us?”

Before Hunter could respond, he slammed on the brakes. A black SUV sat in front of a small cabin.

“Who’s there?”

“I don’t know.”

Hunter shifted into Reverse until Sheriff Redmond stepped from the cabin. The tall man held up his hand in greeting. Hunter let out a slow curse and pulled the car forward, parking it.

Erin exited the vehicle and reached into the backseat for a sleeping Brandon. She unhitched the carrier that snapped on the frame. At least Brandon was secure.

Hunter grabbed the duffel from the back end. “I didn’t expect to see you here, Sheriff.”

A small boy peered out from behind him, and the sheriff ruffled the boy’s head. “This is Ethan.”

A woman appeared beside Blake. A very pregnant woman. “And I’m Amanda Redmond.” She smiled at Erin. “When Blake told me you were staying out here, I thought you could use a few feminine touches. Not to mention baby proofing the place.”

Erin held the carrier handle. Ethan ran over and looked inside. “He’s little. What’s his name?”

“Brandon.”

“I’m getting a baby sister soon,” Ethan said proudly. “I’m going to be the best big brother ever.”

“I’m sure you will be. She’s a lucky little girl.”

Ethan grinned. “Do you wanna see what my mommy brought? She made her extraspecial macaroni and cheese and cookies. We even brought stuff for s’mores.”

The boy held out his hand to Erin and she followed him inside the cabin. It was small, just two rooms, but she could see that Amanda had stocked up. A tin of cookies sat on the table. A box of food and fresh fruits and vegetables were in the refrigerator. Erin set Brandon’s carrier in the corner out of the way.

She looked around, and her eyes burned at the care a complete stranger had taken. She turned to the auburn-haired woman, whose hand was tucked into her husband’s.

“Thank you so much. You can’t know—”

Amanda reached out and patted Erin’s arm. “You’d be surprised how much I understand. Blake and I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but it wasn’t long ago that I didn’t know where I could turn to. This town became my haven. I hope it can become yours.”

Erin sent Hunter a sidelong glance. If she had to leave her world behind, a place like Carder would have been nice.

He gave her a small shake of his head, and she sighed. Not that his reaction surprised her. While she hadn’t developed friendships in Pensacola because of her work schedule, she’d hoped that someday she would be a part of a neighborhood where anyone could knock on her door asking for a cup of sugar or some hot chocolate and marshmallows and be welcome.

Now she wondered if even that small slice of life would be forbidden. Would she always be looking over her shoulder, searching the crowd for danger, being suspicious of every new person to come into her life?

For a split second she’d even wondered if Blake and Amanda Redmond could have ulterior motives. How did Hunter live this way?

She hated it.

Unfortunately, she’d also accepted that this would be her life.

“What does the Triple C look like?” Hunter asked Blake.

The sheriff let out a low whistle. “Burned to the ground. They razed the place and built a barn for the horse, but it’s gonna take time to rebuild. All that’s left is the surveillance equipment. Not that it helped much.”

Erin’s ears perked up. “Does it work?”

“Logan said he planned to replace it.”

“Do you think he’d care if I took a look? I might find something I can use.” She didn’t know how much money she’d have. She’d bet Logan had top-notch equipment Maybe she could put together a security system so she could sleep at night.

“Have at it,” Blake said. “I’m not even sure Logan will come back.”

Amanda cleared her throat. Ethan had leaned against Amanda, and his eyelids had gone heavy.

“We’d better head out,” Blake said. “Someone’s ready for bed.”

Amanda gave Erin a hug. “If you need anything, call me,” she whispered. “I learned the hard way that not asking for help when you need it causes much more trouble than staying silent.”

Hunter reached out his hand to Blake. “Thank you. We won’t be here long, but we appreciate the hospitality.”

“Anyone Logan trusts is okay by me,” Blake said. “His word means a lot in these parts.”

The Redmonds pulled away from the cabin, the dust stirring up. A red sunset burned over the horizon.

Erin leaned against the doorjamb and closed her eyes. “I don’t know if I can stay awake long enough for dinner,” she said. “Do you think there’s a bathtub in this place? I would love a hot soak.”

Hunter opened the bathroom door. “You’re in luck. A claw-foot tub. Someone set this place up for more than a couple of hunters.”

“Hop in. I’ll heat up dinner.”

After grabbing a nightshirt from the duffel, Erin searched under the sink. She rooted around and found some bath salts. Heaven.

Hot water poured from the faucet and she sprinkled the lavender crystals into the water. One dip of her toe, then her foot, and Erin sank down into the steaming heat.

She let out a long sigh, closed her eyes and faded beneath the water. For a few brief moments, she allowed the heat to melt the tension from her muscles. The sounds of the refrigerator and cabinet doors opening and closing filtered from outside.

She’d had more than one fantasy of Hunter joining her in a tub, candles burning all around and their entwined bodies sloshing water all over the floor. Just like in the movies.

Somewhere inside her, she hadn’t given up on that dream. But each time hope reignited in her heart, something beyond her control doused it.

She’d learned the day her parents died that life wasn’t fair. Why did she keep trying? Even her research attempted to circumvent Mother Nature. Was she a fool for trying to change anything?

“Have you turned into a prune yet?” Hunter called out.

A delighted giggle made her smile. Brandon was up. At least for the moment. As quick as she could, Erin dressed and exited the bathroom.

“Was it as good as you hoped?” he asked, setting a casserole dish on the table.

“Better.”

Hunter doled out a plate and handed Erin a serving. Then he put a smaller amount in a small plastic bowl. Amanda had even brought a baby spoon.

“Do you think half got into his stomach?” Hunter laughed after he’d tried to feed Brandon. “Because the other half is definitely either on his face or the floor.”

“I said mac and cheese was his favorite. Not that he necessarily ate it all.” Erin took another bite. She didn’t know what kind of cheese Amanda had used, but whatever it was made Erin’s mouth water. “I have to get this recipe,” she said.

“Well, I have to admit, Amanda Redmond makes my mom’s mac and cheese look pedestrian.” Hunter pushed his chair back from the table to keep Brandon from further wreaking havoc on their dinner.

“What kind did your mom make?”

“From a box. If we had the money to buy it.”

“What about your dad?”

Hunter looked down at Brandon with a heartbreaking expression. “I never knew him. Some guy my mom dated in high school. He left when she found out she was pregnant.” He looked up and met Erin’s gaze. “I promised myself I’d never do something like that. My own choices kept me from keeping that vow. I’m sorry.”

“Does your mom know about your job?” Erin asked.

“She died when I was sixteen. Too much work, not enough food or health care.”

“What did you do?”

Hunter shrugged. “Hung out on the streets until I turned eighteen. There was an army recruiting office across from one of the shelters. I got my G.E.D. and signed up. At least it was a steady paycheck. I found out I was good at it. The guys became my family. They had my back.”

“Like Logan. And Doc.”

“And General Miller. He hand-selected me. No one made me feel like I was really worth something until he did. He taught me I could do anything.”

“My parents gave me that gift before they died.”

With a look that bored into her soul, Hunter captured her gaze. “We’ve both lost. We’ve both overcome. I hadn’t realized.” Hunter rose and Brandon snuggled into his chest. “I assumed we were so different. From the moment we met on Santorini I wanted you, but I also recognized you were from a different stratosphere than me.”

Openmouthed, Erin couldn’t comprehend his words. “When you walked up to me, I thought you’d made the mistake.”

Hunter stepped toward her and cupped her cheek. “I didn’t make a mistake, Erin. You brought light into my life like I’d never known.”

Brandon’s heavy eyelids blinked again and again, then closed, despite just waking up. Her son was clearly exhausted.

“Let me get him ready for bed.”

While Hunter washed the dishes, she slipped Brandon into his pajamas and settled him into the playpen that Amanda had brought. Soon enough, their son was snoring away.

She bent over the side and pushed a lock of black hair from his forehead. “Good night, cutie. Mommy loves you.”

She stood, and a warm heat caressed her back. Hunter’s hands rested on her shoulders. He turned her into his arms and stared down at her.

“I probably shouldn’t kiss you,” he said. “We both know nothing can come of it.”

His eyes seduced her like molten chocolate, and she was so very tempted. She lifted her fingers to his lips. They parted under her touch. “You hurt me,” she said. “You shredded my heart when you left me alone. If I give in to these feelings, what will be left of me?”

He clasped her hand in his. “I can’t answer that. All I can tell you is I’ve been wanting to hold you since I left you in Santorini. Will you let me, Erin? Will you let me love you even though you know we’ll have to say goodbye?”

His hands rubbed her shoulders, and all of the scientific logic Erin had counted on all her life left her. For the first time since that island paradise, she let her heart rule her head.

She wrapped her arms around Hunter’s neck and pulled him down to her. “Love me, Hunter. I’m tired of denying what I feel. Until we have to say goodbye, love me.”

* * *

LEONA WALKED INTO TRACE Padgett’s office and threw down the latest watch list on his desk. “What’s the meaning of this?” She stabbed her finger at Hunter’s name. “A risk to national security? Suspect mental state. Who ordered this?”

“Ma’am—”

The patronization in his voice annoyed her to no end. “Don’t ma’am me, Trace. Explain yourself.”

“Terence Mahew remembered something else, ma’am. He said the man who contacted him said something about knowing Erin Jamison. I discovered Clay Griffin and Erin Jamison had an affair more than a year ago. Someone within this office tried to cover up the relationship.”

Leona closed her eyes. The jig was up. She’d hoped she’d plugged all the holes. Clearly she’d failed.

“So he slept with her. So what?”

She had to find out how much Padgett knew. And how much Kent knew.

“Hunter Graham has a lot of contacts. Erin Jamison began development of her prototype several years ago.” Trace pulled out his notebook. “Graham has made several trips to Florida over the past fourteen months. I think he’s been working on a payoff since he met her. If we don’t find him, Erin Jamison could end up dead, and her prototype in terrorists’ hands.”

Leona stood and tapped her finger to her forehead. Trace Padgett was very, very good. Too good.

“Where do you think Graham has gone?”

“The chatter is quiet. If I were Hunter, I wouldn’t stay in Florida. If I were going to do a meet, I’d go to Mexico. On the border of New Mexico or Arizona probably.”

“See what you can find out from border patrol. See if there’s any unusual activity.

Not bad, Trace. Not bad at all.

Leona left the room, her hands quivering.

This was not good.

Hunter was ignoring her calls. She had no idea where he was. The plans had gone to hell.

She picked up her secure phone and dialed a number. “We have a problem. Are the offshore accounts secure?”

“Of course,” her husband said. “I’m ready when you’re ready, my love.”

“If Hunter doesn’t call soon, we may be screwed.”

“He’ll call, Leona. He trusts you.”

“I hope so. Once he calls, we have to move fast. We have to end Hunter Graham once and for all.”