Ren watched as Kylie swept from the room. “You know, Sawyer, you really are an asshole,” Ren said quietly.
“And you’re not?” Cooper snapped. “Sleeping with a lonely widow as part of an investigation to get inside her house? Can’t get much lower than that.” He turned accusing eyes on Ren. “How could you stoop so low?”
That was a good question. Now that the search had turned up nothing and, if Kylie were to be believed, there was a secret benefactor funding the club, Ren was beginning to wonder the same thing.
“Low? I don’t think so. Not if the lady in question is selling drugs. Nothing in this world is lower than selling drugs,” Sawyer snapped.
“Damn it, Campbell or whoever you are, even if you thought she was selling drugs, which she is not, you took advantage of her grief and her loneliness. And don’t think I don’t know who was behind this whole thing,” Cooper roared, turning on Sawyer. “You may as well be wearing a shirt with ‘asshole’ on the label. Even your horny buddy here can see that.”
“Too fucking bad. Let me explain something to you, Barstow. When drugs are involved, anything, anything, is justified. Even if you and your sister are innocent, which I seriously doubt.” Sawyer turned to Ren. “Go upstairs and get the phone you left for her to find.”
“Shit, I didn’t mean for her to find it and you know that,” Ren snapped.
“Oh, no, no, no,” Cooper said. “Now that we know who you are, you don’t take another step further into this house without a warrant.”
Sawyer cocked an eyebrow. “Don’t think I won’t. And I’ll have it carried out by a whole squad of KPD cars out in front of the house.”
“Actually, that won’t be necessary.” Kylie came back down the hall and shoved Ren’s duffel at his midsection, knocking him back a couple of feet. She had combed her hair and put on a pair of tennis shoes. “I’m ready to go. Cooper, don’t forget to call Mom. Jarvis, I’ll ride with you,” she said when Sawyer moved toward her. She started down the stairs but turned back. “Oh, and Ren? Be sure to call Lalo. You have some sort of family emergency and he wants you to quit whatever screwing around you’re doing with Sawyer Ellison and get your ass back to San Antonio. Lalo’s words, not mine.” She followed Endicott down the stairs and out the front door.
Sawyer whirled around. “What the hell was your cousin doing with that phone number?”
Ren knelt down and threw open his duffel. “Calling to let me know there was a family emergency, just like I told him to.” He fished out the phone and scrolled down the numbers.
“All right, you two, you have the phone,” Cooper snapped. “Get out of my sister’s house. Now.” He got out his own phone and punched in a number.
Sawyer started to argue but Ren held up his hand and pointed to the front door. As he went downstairs to get his car out of the garage he could hear Cooper telling one of his girls to put Grandma on the line.
Ren waited until he was out of the garage to engage the Bluetooth and call Lalo. “Damn it, Ren, it’s about time you called me back.” Lalo’s voice boomed out of the radio speakers. “I’ve been trying to reach you for three days now.”
“Three days? You’ve been trying to reach me for three days?” Ren’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel.
“Yes, I called your buddy Ellison three days ago. He said he’d pass on the message and have you call me back. Why the hell didn’t you call?”
Oh, Sawyer was going to answer for this. “Sawyer didn’t bother to pass on the message. So what’s the emergency? Is everybody all right?”
“Well, everybody’s going to be. Papa had a triple bypass this morning. Same surgery your dad had back in the spring. But we’ve had a tense few days here, and we could have used your support.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t know, not that I could have come back anyway.”
“Actually, you probably could have come back. They rounded up El Espectro and his goons last month.”
“Something else Sawyer didn’t bother to mention. So, is El Jefe really going to be all right now?”
“The doctors assure us he’s fine. Look, Ren, I know you’re committed to this undercover business, but you really ought to think twice about trusting this Sawyer Ellison buddy of yours. Your uncle could have died and you wouldn’t have known about it.”
“Obviously. So, as long as I have you on the phone, how’s everybody else? Is Alex home yet? And how are your wedding plans coming?”
Lalo spent the next few minutes filling Ren on the family’s goings-on since June. He was just pulling into the condo parking lot when Sawyer pulled up next to him, his face set in a mask of fury. They both got out of the car and squared off in the parking lot. “Why in the hell did you give your family your phone number when I told you not to in words of one syllable? You’ve put the entire undercover operation at risk.”
“Because I didn’t trust you to pass along the message if there was some kind of emergency. And I was right, wasn’t I?” Ren got right up in Sawyer’s face. “My uncle was lying there in the hospital and my family needed me, and you didn’t tell me to call them. You out-and-out lied to Lalo. You told him you would tell me and then you didn’t.”
“Wouldn’t have mattered. You can’t go back right now anyway.”
“Yes, I could. They got El Espectro last month. Something else you didn’t bother to tell me.”
“I couldn’t risk you running off to San Antonio in the middle of all this.”
“That’s just peachy. You know how close I am to Tio Ernest. What if he’d died, Sawyer? How do you think that would have made me feel? How do you think my family would have felt?”
“Damn it to hell, Ren. Don’t you get it? There is nothing, nothing more important right now than the investigation. That trumps family any day.”
“Jesus, Sawyer, I know you’re a fanatic, but really? You honestly think the investigation trumps family? Especially when your own family is what this is all about?”
Sawyer stumbled back and turned white. My God, had he just said that to his best friend? Thrown that tragedy in Sawyer’s face? That had been seriously below the belt. “Sawyer, I—I’m—”
“Just shut the fuck up and go inside. We’re attracting attention.”
They both stomped into the condo and Ren threw his duffel and instrument cases on the sofa. “Well, we got us a dealer,” Sawyer said with grim satisfaction as he flopped down on the sofa.
“Actually, I don’t think we did.” Ren put a pod in the coffee maker. “I don’t think she’s guilty. She wasn’t the one who emptied the drug stash last night.” He slammed a coffee cup under the machine and hit the button. “And in all the time I’ve spent with her, both in and out of bed, I’ve never once picked up on anything that would make me think she’s guilty.”
“Oh, get real and quit letting a little good nookie blind you to the truth. She may not have the drugs right now, but that damned offshore account’s drug money. It has to be.”
“No, it doesn’t have to be. You just want it to be. You’re so damned eager to catch you a dealer that you’ll settle on the most likely candidate whether they’re guilty or not. And if you find out that she’s not your culprit, that there’s a perfectly legitimate explanation for that account, you’ve accused and embarrassed an innocent woman. You’re going to have another Kirby Martinez situation on your hands.”
Sawyer gave him a go-to-hell look. Ren took his coffee to the bathroom and drew a hot shower, wishing he had time to ice his swollen nose. He hoped to God he was right and there was an explanation for the money. As it was, it didn’t matter if she was guilty or not. The bewildered hurt and anger in Kylie’s eyes this morning as she looked at him, realizing that yet another man had lied to her and betrayed her, would stay with him for a long damn time.
***
Kylie sat in the interrogation room and sipped the last of a Coke that Jarvis had kindly brought her. She had been at the station for the better part of two hours, most of which she’d spent alone here in the room staring at the walls. Jarvis had asked her a few questions, but when she refused to answer he’d brought her a Coke and left her alone.
Kylie’s fingers trembled as she threw the empty can into the trash. How much longer would it be until she heard back from her mother? Lexi would contact the senator as quickly as she could, but what would his reaction be? Other than the one visit he might or might not have made Friday, he’d shown no interest in the club or her, and with what he had to lose if his secret got out he might not be willing to get involved at all. On the other hand, he hadn’t had to help her at all, and he had. Surely he cared enough about her to help her clear her name.
She was just about to ask about finding a ladies’ room when the door banged open and Sawyer stomped in, followed by Ren and a worried-looking Jarvis. She spared a disdainful glance at Ren, satisfied to see his badly swollen and bruised nose, before turning her eyes on Sawyer. “What can I do for you now?”
Sawyer gave her a go-to-hell look. “We’ve been ordered to take you back to your house.”
Kylie breathed in a cautious sense of relief. They wouldn’t be taking her home if they intended to arrest her this morning. “Fine. I’ll ride with Jarvis again.”
Sawyer glared at her. “If it were up to me I wouldn’t be doing this. This better be good.”
“But it’s not up to you, Ellison. And you have between here and Mrs. Richards’s house to lose the attitude,” Jarvis snapped. “I’m not getting into any more hot water because of you.”
“Whatever.”
Kylie followed Jarvis to his unmarked and stared out the windows at the clouds rolling in, clouds that matched her mood perfectly. Foolish, foolish Kylie, falling for another liar and letting Ren into her house and into her bed. Yet again she had been lied to by a man. She had been taken in by an undercover agent, of all people. She had given her body to a man who wanted to put her in jail for something she hadn’t even done. How pitiful was that? How much more gullible could she have been?
Had she missed the obvious? Kylie went back over the last three months. Except for not wanting to talk about himself much, there had been absolutely no signs whatsoever that Ren Campbell was not the man he presented himself to be. His appearance, his accent, his cover story—all seamless. His knowledge of mountain music—one hundred percent authentic. His talent on the instruments—genuine. Yet from what little she’d gleaned this morning, his real last name was Navarro, he was from San Antonio, and he spoke fluent Spanish. Just who in the hell was this man who had duped her so thoroughly? And was her naiveté going to cost her the club?
Jarvis pulled into the driveway behind Lexi’s Honda and opened the car door for Kylie. Sawyer and Ren met them on the front porch. Jarvis turned around to Sawyer. “Now you don’t say or do one damned thing to make that man in there mad. He’s on the warpath already. And he is powerful.”
Sawyer shrugged, obviously unimpressed. They all trooped into Kylie’s house and up the stairs into the living room, where they found Lexi and Cooper sitting on the sofa and Collins Wentworth standing by the window. Lexi and Cooper were glaring daggers at each other and Collins eyed the agents with contempt before turning kind eyes on Kylie.
A wave of relief washed over her as the senator motioned her over and clasped her hand. “Tough morning, huh?”
Kylie looked back at Sawyer and Ren. “Very tough morning.”
The three agents looked from Kylie to Collins and back and she could tell when each of them made the connection between her and the senator. “I’m Senator Collins Wentworth, Kylie’s benefactor. And I am not happy to be here this morning.” The senator pointed to three empty chairs someone had moved from the dining room. “You three. Sit down.”
“Senator, I don’t think—” Sawyer said.
“I said sit down. I talk. You listen.”
“Excuse me, just what—”
“Damn it, do what he says,” Jarvis said, yanking Sawyer by the belt toward one of the chairs. “He’s already talked to my boss and you can bet your next paycheck he’s talked to yours, too. And my boss was seriously unhappy after he hung up.”
That seemed to get Sawyer’s attention. He sat down along with Ren and Jarvis. Lexi motioned to Kylie to sit down between her and Cooper and they all looked at Collins, who remained standing. The senator handed Jarvis and Sawyer bank statements and a couple of papers of legalese. “As you can see, I am Kylie’s anonymous benefactor. The money she has been receiving is from me, not from the drug trade. Does everybody understand this?”
Sawyer and Jarvis looked over the papers. “Clear as a bell to me,” Jarvis said. “Ellison?”
“Perfectly clear.” Sawyer looked majorly put out as he faced Kylie. “You could have just told us.”
“No, I couldn’t,” Kylie protested. “I was sworn to secrecy.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Sawyer protested.
“No, it isn’t.” Collins stepped behind the sofa and put his hand on Kylie’s shoulder. “You have all probably figured out by now that Kylie’s my daughter. But I’ve never acknowledged her publicly because her mother was married to another man, who, God bless him, was willing to rear Kylie as his own, and later to spare my wife the hurt and embarrassment of my less than stellar youth. But I promised Lexi that if my daughter ever needed help from me she would have it, and when Lexi told me what Tommy Richards had done with Kylie’s savings, I volunteered to step in.”
“How does your wife feel about this?” Ren asked softly.
“She doesn’t know, and that’s the reason for all the secrecy. I have a lot of power and influence these days, but very little money of my own. If Edna finds out about Kylie, she’ll leave and take her money with her. There goes my marriage and Kylie’s help.”
Cooper whistled under his breath. “You’re secretly using your wife’s money to help your illegitimate daughter?”
“And her partner in the business,” the senator shot back. “You’ve benefitted from my generosity also.”
“And you don’t need to be passing judgment,” Lexi reminded Cooper as his ears turned red.
“Now, are we clear on everything?” Collins asked.
“Yes, we are.” Sawyer started to stand.
“Mr. Ellison, sit back down. I have a few more things to say.” He stepped in front of the three agents. “I want to know which one of you seduced my daughter, and just whose idea that was in the first place.”
“Senator Wentworth, I had no idea what was going on,” Jarvis said quickly. “We were notified a few months ago that an undercover operation was underway in Tri-Cities, but I never even met either of these agents until my own department called me to come here this morning.”
“I see.” The senator turned to Ren and Sawyer. “Well? I believe I asked you two a question.”
“I’m the one who slept with her, sir,” Ren said quietly. He looked over at Kylie. “I know I hurt her and I’m sorry, especially since it wasn’t drug money in her account.”
“Such a prince,” Lexi jeered.
Ren tried to meet Kylie’s eyes but she looked away. She didn’t particularly care if he was sorry or not.
Sawyer sat up straight and looked the senator in the eye. “But it was my idea in the first place, and I’ll cheerfully take complete responsibility. I recruited Ren and I gave him instructions to get as close to Mrs. Richards as he could, up to and including sleeping with her, to find out whether or not she was our dealer.” He stood up eye to eye with the senator. “Does it look despicable from the outside looking in? Sure. But drugs are involved. Damn it, don’t any of you understand? Somebody’s selling drugs out of Acoustics and that has to stop. So yes, that makes it justified.”
“His treatment of my daughter was justified? Your treatment of that boy back in San Antonio was justified? Oh, yes, Ellison. I did a little research on you this morning and then I had a little talk with your boss. After this little stunt you’re skating on thin ice with those folks. And nothing would please me more than to call him up and punch a hole in that ice. Do you understand?”
“Do you think you really have that much power?” Sawyer asked softly.
Jarvis whirled around. “He sits on the Department of Justice oversight committee. You’re damn right he can have your job.”
Sawyer’s eyes widened. “Oh.”
“Glad you finally understand, Mr. Ellison. Okay, gentlemen. Here’s the deal. I go on helping my daughter. And the hotshot narcs in this room keep their mouths shut about it. Because if you don’t, I’ll have every one of your jobs. Does everybody understand?”
They all nodded.
“What about the investigation, sir?” Ren asked quietly. “We know that Kylie’s innocent, but there are drugs being sold out of the place. We need to find out where they’re coming from and who’s selling them.”
“That’s up to my daughter and her brother. Frankly, I’d kick you out on your asses and make you come back with a warrant.” He looked at Cooper and Kylie. “If you do decide to cooperate, make damn sure they go by the book.” He glared at Ren. “And stay a mile away from my daughter, Navarro. She doesn’t need a rich playboy undercover agent wannabe screwing around with her.” He spared the agents one more contemptuous glance before going down the stairs and into the garage.
Rich playboy undercover agent wannabe? Just who the hell was Ren Navarro, really?