Black Canyon Conspiracy Read online

  “His mind is twisted. Unpredictable.”

  She plucked at the seat belt and worried her lower lip between her teeth. “It was so strange. The whole time I was at his ranch,” she said, “he kept telling me he loved me, but I never really believed him. There was something about him... He was too cold and unemotional. He didn’t seem capable of love.”

  “Some people are harder to read than others.” He’d been accused of being incapable of love himself. He sometimes wondered if his accusers were right. A lifetime of schooling his emotions left him sometimes unsure of what he really felt.

  “Richard wasn’t just reserved,” she said. “There’s something wrong with him. I don’t understand why other people can’t see it.”

  “Maybe you’re more sensitive to emotions than other people.”

  “Because I’m so emotional myself?” She made a face.

  “No. Because you have a gift for reading people.”

  Her expression softened and she turned toward him. “Thank you,” she said.

  He started to tell her she didn’t need to thank him for anything, but her next words silenced him. “I’m not thanking you for the compliment,” she said. “Though that was nice, too. I’m thanking you for respecting me. For treating me like a sensible adult. That’s something this disease has stolen from me. Once people could put a label on me—bipolar—they started treating me differently, as if I wasn’t even me anymore, just this sick person.”

  “I don’t see you as a sick person.” She had her problems, but everyone did, whether they were out there for the world to see or not.

  “I know. And that means a lot to me.”

  Silence settled between them, charged with the awareness of things left unsaid. Other men—Rand and Michael Dance and even the captain—found ways to navigate the divide between duty and personal feeling, but he didn’t know how to manage that. From the time he was a kid in his first gang, obeying the rules had been what had kept him in line. What kept him alive. The rules said you didn’t fraternize with witnesses or the people you were charged with protecting. In real life, it happened all the time, but not to him.

  His cell phone rang, and he punched the button to answer it. “Cruz.”

  “Marco, you need to get back to headquarters as soon as possible.” Rand’s voice sounded strained.

  “What is it?” Marco asked. “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know. The captain has called a meeting. He wants everyone here ASAP.”

  “We’re on our way.”

  “What is it?” Lauren asked after he’d hung up.

  “The captain’s called a meeting. Maybe he’s got some news about the case.”

  “I hope so. It would be a relief to have at least some answers.”

  The lot was crowded with Rangers’ vehicles. Marco found a parking place at the far end, and he and Lauren joined the others inside. “What’s up?” Marco asked Rand.

  “I don’t know. The captain has been in his office all morning.”

  They stared at the door to the captain’s private office. Just then, it opened, and Graham emerged. He looked solemn, angry even. Whatever he had to say, it wasn’t going to be good.

  He walked to the front of the room and faced them. A hush fell over the crowd. “There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just get this over with.” Graham glanced at a piece of paper in his hand—a printout of some kind. “The justice department issued an order this morning disbanding the interagency task force.” He looked up, his face grim. “Effective immediately, The Ranger Brigade is no more.”

  Chapter Eight

  Stunned silence followed Graham’s announcement, then everyone started talking at once. Lauren touched Marco’s arm. “What does this mean?” she asked. “Were you all just fired?” She certainly knew what that felt like.

  “Not exactly,” he said. “With the task force dissolved, we go back to our regular positions in law enforcement.”

  “So you’re with the DEA, right?”

  He nodded, his expression grim.

  She looked around the room, at the other men and women, who seemed equally upset. “What happens to the cases you were investigating?”

  “Some of them will be turned over to local law enforcement,” he said.

  “You mean the Montrose police?”

  “Or the sheriff’s department, or the Grand Junction police.”

  “So they’ll continue investigating Richard Prentice.”

  “What do you think?”

  “I think the chances of that happening aren’t very high.” Now that the grand jury had failed to bring charges, local authorities had no reason to pursue the case further. Not unless a new crime was committed or new evidence came to light. Without an ongoing investigation, the chances of finding new evidence seemed slim to none.

  Not to mention that the local cops didn’t have the manpower or the funds to fight Prentice and his phalanx of lawyers. Most of the people she’d met in her brief time in town before Prentice had kidnapped her were intimidated by the billionaire. He had influence over judges and politicians at a state level. Look at how easily he’d persuaded the courts to drop all the charges the Rangers had brought against him.

  “But you can still work on the case, can’t you?” she asked, struggling to salvage something positive from this latest news. “I mean, at least the drug part of it. Alan Milbanks was smuggling drugs, and I’m sure Prentice was bankrolling him. I know there’s proof out there that Prentice was involved in Milbanks’s operation. You can keep looking for that proof.”

  “You don’t understand. I won’t be here to investigate anything. My duty post is in Denver.”

  His words hit her like a physical blow. He was leaving her? Alone?

  Rand, Sophie and Michael joined them. They looked as poleaxed by the news as she felt. “This changes everything,” Michael said.

  But Lauren had had too many changes in her life the past few months. She turned to Rand. “You can stay, can’t you?” she asked. “You’re with the Bureau of Land Management. They have a lot of land in this part of Colorado.”

  “I can’t guarantee where my bosses will send me.” He put his arm around Sophie and drew her close. She looked on the verge of tears. “But if I have to, I’ll ask for leave.”

  “An investigation like this takes more than one person,” Michael said. “It takes a team.”

  “A team like we were,” Rand said.

  Graham joined them. “Where will you go, Captain?” Lauren asked.

  “I’ve been ordered back to Washington.”

  “Will Emma go with you?” Michael asked.

  His expression grew more strained. “I hope so, but her work is here.”

  “She’ll go with you,” Lauren said. “This could be her chance to land a job with one of the big national papers.”

  “Richard Prentice is going to get away with murder now that he doesn’t have the Rangers watching him,” Sophie said. “It makes me so angry.”

  “I’ll still be watching him,” Lauren said. “I’m not going to stop digging into his background and looking into his business dealings.”

  “You can’t do that,” Sophie said. “It’s too dangerous for you to do that stuff on your own.”

  “She won’t be on her own,” Marco said.

  They all stared at him. “I’ll be with you,” he said.

  “But you just said you had to report to Denver,” Lauren said.

  “I promised I’d protect you. With the Rangers disbanded, you’ll be more vulnerable than ever.”

  She could hardly believe what he was saying. She swallowed past the knot that had formed in her throat. “But what about your job?”

  “As of right now, I’m taking a leave of absence. I have some unfinished business to take care of.”

  * * *

  THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING. Michael’s words repeated like a mantra in Marco’s thoughts as he cleaned out his locker at Ranger headquarters. Around him, the other members of the tea
m were filling duffels and backpacks with personal belongings.

  “Simon, is that smell coming from your locker?” Michael called across the room. “What have you got in there?”

  “It’s my running clothes.” Simon held up a handful of T-shirts. “I haven’t had time to do laundry lately.”

  “They ought to be declared hazardous waste,” Michael said.

  “Maybe I’ll leave them here. A little souvenir for whoever has to clean up this place.”

  Carmen looked up from the locker next to Marco’s. “What do you think will happen to this place?” she asked.

  “Don’t know. They’ll probably haul it someplace and use it for storage or offices.”

  “I called my supervisor in Denver,” she said. “Left him a voice mail that I needed to take some personal time.”

  “You’re staying, then?”

  She nodded. “I don’t like leaving work half-done.”

  Rand walked by, a duffel in each hand, Lotte by his side. “What about Lotte?” Marco asked.

  He stopped; the dog stopped, too. “What about her?”

  “Isn’t she government property?” Marco asked.

  “She’s my partner. If I’m on leave, she’s on leave.”

  “You’re not worried they’ll reassign her?” Carmen asked.

  “They’d have to find her first.” He turned to Marco. “You realize we have to clear out of the duplex, right?”

  “Why would you have to do that?” Carmen asked.

  “It’s state property,” Marco said. “One of the perks of the job.”

  “I remember now,” she said. “I was ticked I didn’t get one of those, but now I’m glad they gave me a housing allowance instead. As long as my savings hold out, I can keep my apartment.”

  “Don’t say that too loud,” Rand said. “Or you’re liable to end up with roommates.”

  “Uh-uh. It’s one bedroom and my cat has already claimed the couch.”

  Marco stuffed a last notebook into his duffel and zipped it shut. “I’m done here,” he said. Time to focus on the future, on finding justice—and justification for the Rangers.

  Lauren and Sophie were waiting in the front room. Emma and Abby had joined them, the four gathered in a worried knot by the door, watching the parade of officers and staff carrying boxes and bags to the parking lot. “I can’t believe this is happening,” Emma said.

  “Are you going to write about it for the paper?” Rand asked.

  She shook her head. “I couldn’t. I’m too outraged for it to ever make it into print.”

  “Do you think Richard Prentice and Senator Mattheson are celebrating right now?” Lauren asked.

  “I hope they are,” Rand said. “If they believe we aren’t a threat anymore they’ll let down their guard.”

  “How are you going to continue the investigation without access to your files and records?” Abby asked.

  “I’ll still have access for a few more weeks, at least.” Graham joined them. “I’m staying on for a few weeks to oversee the transfer of records, disposal of the building, et cetera,” he said. “I’ll try to draw it out as long as possible and if you need me to look up anything for you, I will.”

  “Then, you’re okay with what we’re doing?” Rand asked.

  The lines on Graham’s forehead deepened. “I’m not okay with any of this, but I admire your dedication, and I want to finish the job we came here to do—to stop this crime wave that’s threatening to take over public lands.”

  “Why don’t you meet at our place this evening and discuss what you’re going to do?” Emma said.

  Graham nodded. “Everyone get settled, then come to my house at seven.”

  “Women, too,” Emma said. “We can help.”

  “Women, too,” Graham agreed.

  “Meanwhile, Marco and I need to collect our belongings from our duplex before someone remembers it belongs to the state and locks us out,” Rand said.

  “Would they really do that?” Sophie asked.

  “I never thought they’d disband the Rangers,” he said. “Now I wouldn’t put anything past them.”

  “Where will you stay?” Emma asked.

  “They’ll stay with us,” Lauren said.

  When everyone turned to look at her, she flushed pink. “I mean, Sophie and Rand are practically living together already, and we’ll find someplace for Marco...” Her voice trailed away.

  “Of course they’ll stay with us.” Sophie put her arm through Rand’s.

  “You know Lotte has to come with me,” Rand said. “That’s okay, isn’t it?” Sophie had been terrified of the dog when they’d first met.

  She nodded. “I’m okay with Lotte, though, come to think of it, I’m not sure if our complex allows dogs.”

  “We’ll worry about that later.” He turned to Marco. “You okay with staying with the girls?”

  He nodded, his gaze still focused on Lauren. Maybe she had plans for him to sleep on the sofa. That might work for a night or two, but being in such close proximity to her wasn’t going to do anything to lessen the attraction between them. Now that he was on leave, his duty to her was less well defined. Instead of a law officer and a witness, they were just a man and a woman.

  As Michael had said, the disbandment of the Rangers changed everything.

  * * *

  LAUREN AND SOPHIE headed back to their apartment. They’d persuaded the men they’d be fine for the few hours it took for them to pack and move their stuff into Graham’s garage, where he’d offered to store their belongings.

  “Rand tried to get me to bring Lotte with us,” Sophie said as she drove the car through town. “I’m a lot more comfortable with her than I used to be, but that still doesn’t mean I want to be alone with her.”

  “We can use this time to get ready for the guys,” Lauren said.

  “And just where is Marco going to sleep? He’s too tall for our sofa.”

  “I’m sure when he was in Special Forces he slept in places that were a lot more uncomfortable than our living room floor. We can make him a pallet or something.” Her face felt as if it was on fire, the curse of being fair skinned and blushing easily.

  “Okay. If that’s what you want.” Sophie’s smile was more of a smirk. “Though I can think of places he might be more comfortable.”

  “Stop it, Sophie. We’re not even going to go there.” Though even as she said the words, heat pooled between her legs at the thought of Marco naked and in her bed. Stop it, she ordered herself. She was never going to get through this if she didn’t keep her libido under control.

  “We’d better stop at the grocery store,” she said. “The guys are going to want more to eat than yogurt and frozen diet dinners.”

  “We also have canned soup and your not-so-secret stash of chocolate,” Sophie said.

  “Hey, that chocolate is for emergencies!”

  “We’d better buy more. I feel more emergencies coming on.”

  They detoured to the grocery store, where they filled their cart with chips and lunch meat and frozen waffles and anything they considered “guy” food. “They’d better be hungry,” Sophie said as she pushed the loaded cart toward their car.

  “I just thought of something,” Lauren said. “What if they’re into health food or something? Maybe they only eat tofu and chicken and salads.”

  Sophie laughed. “Trust me, Rand will eat his share of junk food—and Marco’s share, too, if it comes to that.”

  “So things seem pretty serious between you two,” Lauren said. “Do you think you’ll get married?”

  “Maybe. We’ve talked about the future—a little. But neither of us wants to rush into anything.”

  “Good idea. Maybe if I’d been more cautious, I wouldn’t have made such a mistake with Phil.”

  “You’re in a better place now than you were then.”

  She started to answer, but stopped when she noticed movement beside their car. A tall, broad-shouldered man dressed in black stepped out from the
passenger side of a white van parked beside them. Something about him looked so familiar.

  A crushing grip around her torso cut off the thought. She struggled against the man who held her. “Sophie, run!” she screamed, before her assailant’s other hand closed over her mouth, silencing her.

  Chapter Nine

  Lauren clawed at the face of the man who held her, wild with terror. She writhed in his arms and kicked at his shins as hard as she could. He swore and squeezed her tighter, sending pain stabbing through her chest and cutting off her breath until she feared she might black out. On the other side of the car, Sophie struggled with the man Lauren had seen getting out of the van. She rammed the shopping cart into him, then began pulling cans and bottles from the cart and hurling them at him. He ducked and grabbed for her, but she kept the cart between them and screamed at the top of her lungs. “Help! Help! Somebody, help!”

  Lauren opened her mouth as wide as she could, then bit down hard on the hand of the man who held her, tasting blood. He yowled and loosened his hold on her, enough that she could free one hand to jab at his eyeball. With another yowl, he released her and she lurched away from him, staggering and gasping for breath.

  By this time, Sophie’s screams had attracted the attention of other shoppers, who gathered in front of the store. “The police are on their way!” someone shouted.

  At this, Sophie’s attacker dived back into the van. Lauren’s assailant lunged after him, and within seconds they screeched out of the parking lot. Two men and a woman rushed forward to help the sisters, offering water and reassurance, and helping to gather their scattered groceries. Lauren hugged Sophie, tears streaming down both their faces.

  A siren announced the arrival of two police cars. The officers, a man and a woman, approached. After determining that Sophie and Lauren were frightened and a little bruised, but not seriously hurt, they asked what had happened.

  “We came out of the store with our groceries and two men attacked us,” Sophie said.