Buch lesen: «The Outsider's Redemption»

Chapter One

Cody Gannon picked up the glass and downed the bourbon. He seldom touched hard liquor, but tonight was special. A hard ball of emptiness had settled in the spot where his heart should have resided, and he needed the burn in his throat and the pain-numbing sting of the drink as it plunged into the pit of his stomach.

Cody Gannon. Illegitimate son. The words tore at his insides like crushed glass. Or shrapnel.

“Mitchell Forbes.” He said the name out loud, rolled it over his tongue, spit it past the disgusting lump that had settled in his throat.

A week ago, the man had been his hero. But that was before Cody had found out the truth about Mitchell. That’s why Cody’s gear was in his pickup truck. All he owned. Amazingly little. Jeans, shirts, boots, a couple of jackets, his guns and a saddle. Even his horse belonged to Mitchell and Texas Confidential.

He had no idea where he was headed, wasn’t even sure what town he’d stopped in. He didn’t much care anymore, as long as it was far away from the Smoking Barrel.

Regret balled in his gut. He tried to force it away, but he hadn’t drunk nearly enough to make it subside. Being a part of Texas Confidential had been more than a job. It had been his life. The first real commitment he’d ever made to anything. The best friends he’d ever had.

Now Cody had no choice but to walk away. Calderone and his band of murderous drug dealers would still be stopped, but Cody wouldn’t be in on the operation that brought them down.

“Thank you, Mitchell Forbes.” He downed the rest of the bourbon and pushed the glass away as a bearded man who smelled like he was two days past needing a bath slid onto the bar stool next to him.

“Buy me a drink, mister?”

“I’d sooner buy you a bar of soap.”

“Then save your money.”

“Suit yourself.” Cody stood and turned away from the drunk, ready to move to another stool or one of the tables in the back of the smoky saloon.

“You better save your money anyway. You’ll probably need it now that you’ve walked off your job.” The stranger leaned over the bar, his hands spread out flat on the marred wood.

Cody stopped and stared at him. His hair was gray, thin and wiry, and his skin was bronzed and weathered from hours spent in the sun. “What makes you think I lost my job?” he asked, studying the man’s facial expression as he waited for an answer.

“I don’t think. I know.” The man fingered the brim of a soiled western hat. “Tell me, is Penny still as bossy as ever?”

“I don’t know any Penny,” he lied.

“Sure you do. No one works at the Smoking Barrel without knowing Penny Archer.”

So that was it. The dirty drunk had probably worked for a while on one of the ranches near the Smoking Barrel, though he didn’t look familiar. It was no secret Cody worked for Mitchell Forbes. It was what he and the other Texas Confidential agents really did for Mitchell Forbes that was kept under wraps.

Still, the man made Cody nervous, and he might as well move on. He reached for his wallet and pulled out a few bills, enough to pay his tab and purchase one drink for the aging cowboy.

“You’re not leaving, are you?” The man reached over and wrapped his fingers around Cody’s left wrist. “I thought we’d get to be buddies.”

“Think again.”

“But we have so much to talk about. Mutual friends. A mutual enemy.”

Cody smoothed the bills he’d tossed to the table, instantly aware of the change to the man’s voice. He was no longer slurring his words, and his voice had lost all traces of frailty. He stared into the man’s eyes, and experienced a vague sense of déjà vu. “What enemy would that be?”

“I was thinking of Tomaso Calderone, but I guess if you’re not a Confidential anymore, you wouldn’t be interested.”

Cody swallowed hard. The man definitely had his attention now. No one outside of the powers in charge was supposed to know about Texas Confidential. The agents’ ability to do their job depended on people believing that they were just everyday cowboys running a ranch. So did staying alive. He lowered his voice to a mere whisper. “Who are you?”

The man met his gaze. “Don’t you recognize me, Cody?”

The voice was no longer disguised. It was smooth. Easy. Almost familiar. He squinted, taking in the wrinkles in the man’s face, his stringy beard, his wispy gray hair. The voice and the appearance didn’t match. He only knew one man who could come up with a disguise that good, and this couldn’t be him.

“I don’t have any idea who you are or what you want from me.”

“I’m Daniel Austin.”

“Daniel Austin is dead.”

“No. I’m too tough to die, though I wished for it a time or two.” His lips curled into a half smile. “I was captured by Rialto’s men, kept prisoner for months. Finally, I escaped, but by then, I knew enough about Calderone and how he worked that I was able to infiltrate his organization. I’ve worked my way all the way to the top. Calderone and me—we’re like that.” He indicated how close with two fingers on his right hand.

Cody shook his head. “No, Daniel is dead.”

“Because that’s what Mitchell Forbes told you? Believe me, that doesn’t make it true.”

Suspicion reared up inside Cody. He was supposed to be walking away from his life as a Texas Confidential agent, not being drawn into some secret conspiracy. But this man obviously knew all about them. And if he really was Daniel Austin…“Why would Mitchell be told you were dead if you’re not?”

“You know the head honchos. They don’t trust anyone.”

“They trust Mitchell Forbes.”

“Don’t be so sure.”

Cody tried to digest that last bit of information, but it boggled his mind. No one had ever infiltrated Calderone’s circle. And if someone did, and Calderone found out, the man’s body would be found in tiny pieces. Still, if anyone could do it, it would be Daniel Austin.

“So, if you’re so close to Calderone, what in the hell are you doing here?”

“My job. But I can’t do it alone.”

“Then you need to talk to Rafe or one of the others. I’m out.” Damn, here he was giving away information. The man was blowing his mind. He knew too much, but he couldn’t be Daniel Austin. Or could he?

“Listen, Cody. I know what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong. I didn’t just happen into this bar tonight. I followed you here. I need you. But before I give you the assignment, I have to be certain you’re not going to go running back to Mitchell Forbes.”

“Why’s that?”

Daniel, or at least the man claiming to be Daniel, stared straight ahead, his back still hunched, his head still low, as if he really were an elderly man. He didn’t face Cody when he talked, but when he paused, his Adam’s apple rode up and down like it was bobbing in a pail of water.

“As you know, someone has been leaking secrets to Calderone. We think it might be Mitchell himself.”

A curl of smoke from the cigarette of a man a few stools down wafted into Cody’s face. His eyes burned, but not nearly as severely as the acid that pooled in his stomach. There was a leak somewhere. That part was true. But, Mitchell?

Even as angry as Cody was with the man, he’d never imagined Mitchell capable of deceit where Texas Confidential was concerned. Not when stopping Calderone seemed to be the cause that fueled his incredible drive.

But this would be just like the department. The same minds that had dreamed up Texas Confidential would like nothing better than having Daniel Austin, their master of disguises, working so far undercover that even Calderone himself would take the man into his confidence.

“What is it you need me to do?” he asked, still suspicious, but warming to the idea of getting in on the action of bringing Calderone down. Especially when it meant he’d outdo Mitchell Forbes.

“I need you to go to the airport and pick up a woman named Sarah Rand. She’ll be flying into San Antonio and arriving at five o’clock tomorrow afternoon. After you pick her up, I’ll contact you and tell you where I’ll meet the two of you.”

“And who is this Sarah Rand?”

“She’s a secretary for the Department of Public Safety. Works for Elmore Cochran.”

Cody recognized the name though he’d never met the man. He’d just been promoted and was now the final authority over anything involving Confidential agents.

Dan leaned in closer, his voice lowered to a barely audible whisper. “Evidence indicates that Miss Rand may have been selling secrets to Calderone, and that’s what she thinks she’s doing now. I’ve offered her one million dollars to deliver some secret files to me. If she delivers, it will prove her guilt.”

Cody parted his lips as a low whistle escaped. “I don’t see how this would prove anything except that she can be bribed for a million dollars. Selling you top secret info now doesn’t mean she’s done it before. Not to mention that there are laws against entrapment.”

“You let me and the department worry about that end of it. All I need from you is a simple yes or no.”

There was nothing simple about the answer Cody was about to give. If this man was Daniel Austin, then a yes would put Cody into the thick of things. He could be a major player in the action that brought the mighty Tomaso Calderone to his knees. And how sweet it would be to let Mitchell Forbes see that he was his own man.

But if this wasn’t Daniel Austin, then he could be walking into a trap. He’d have to watch his back every minute. Nothing new there.

“I’ll go with the yes.” Daniel nodded and his eyes warmed, though his lips stayed drawn in the same thin line.

“So after I pick up Miss Sarah Rand, where do I deliver her?” Cody asked.

“I’ll let you know that at the time.”

“How do I reach you?”

“You don’t. I’ll reach you. You just pick up the woman and get her into your truck. I’ll make the connection at that point.”

“I don’t have a cellular phone anymore. The one I had belonged to Texas Confidential and I turned it in when I left. All I have is a beeper, and that only until someone cancels the contract.”

“Then I guess that will have to do.” Cody scribbled his pager number down on a napkin and handed it to Daniel though he had the sneaking suspicion the man already knew it. “How will I recognize this woman?”

“She’s young—in her twenties. Her hair’s a reddish blond and she wears it straight and just long enough to cover her ears. She’ll be wearing a hot pink suit.” Daniel stood up. “Oh yeah,” he added. “She’ll be carrying a canvas tote that says ‘So many cowboys, so little time.’ You can’t miss her.”

With that, Daniel Austin slid off his stool and staggered to the door, doing a flawless performance as an elderly drunk. His baggy pants rode his thin hips, and the back of his gray hair zigzagged in and out of his shirt collar. One of the younger cowboys moved out of his way in deference to the man’s apparent age and condition.

Cody waited a few minutes, then left the bar and walked back to his pickup truck. A few minutes ago, he’d been wallowing in his bad luck. But now the old juices were starting to flow. He was back in the saddle again.

CODY STOOD aside as the first eager passengers from Flight 109 made it to the end of the exit ramp. A few men and women in business suits, a hot-looking babe in a pair of skintight jeans, a group of elderly ladies all laughing as if they didn’t have a care in the world.

The stream of arriving passengers slowed, and doubt started to nag at the back of his mind. If this turned out to be a fishing trip to a dry creek, he was going to be downright mad at himself. He craned his neck at the first sight of hot pink. Nope. False alarm. The woman was pregnant.

The hair color fit though. Hers was shiny, strawberry blond, straight. And just long enough to brush the edges of her blushed cheeks. Dressed in hot pink with a black coat and a leather purse draped over her shoulder and pulling a wheeled carry-on bag. Cute as a button, but pregnant, and Dan would surely have mentioned it if Cody was supposed to pick up a pregnant woman.

She stopped a few feet away from him and looked around. Cody expected some young, expectant father to rush up to meet her. No one did, and he couldn’t help but notice the worry that creased her forehead and shaded her gorgeous green eyes.

She turned, and that’s when Cody saw the cloth tote bag swinging from beneath the coat. The inscription was there, just like Dan had said. So many cowboys, so little time.

Undoubtedly this was Sarah Rand. Now all Cody had to do was pick her up and take her to meet Dan so that she could be arrested. Some hero he was, apprehending a pregnant lady.

Cody backed away and then stopped. Pregnant or not, if Sarah Rand was selling secrets that could give Calderone the winning edge, she had to be stopped. He only wished she looked like Calderone or like his right-arm man Rialto had. Those were the kind of criminals a man could get his kicks from sending to prison.

He walked over and tipped his Stetson. “Mind if I help you, Mrs. Rand?”

She stared at him, then looked away, nervously scanning the crowd. Hot pink outfit, tote bag. It had to be her, so why was she ignoring him? He stood his ground. “You are Mrs. Rand, aren’t you?”

Her brows furrowed. “Why do you ask?”

“I was sent to pick you up.”

She smiled slightly. “You’re not what I expected,” she whispered, turning to glance over her shoulder.

“You don’t have to whisper,” Cody said. “We’re just a couple of friends meeting in the airport. Try to appear that way.”

“Okay.” She took a deep breath, but didn’t relax. “I know I’m supposed to act cool, but ever since I caught the plane in D.C. I’ve been a nervous wreck. The man sitting next to me kept trying to talk to me and I finally told him I had a migraine just so he’d back off. I thought about telling him I was married to a very jealous husband but I don’t wear a ring. I mean I’m pregnant and all but…”

“Okay, let’s take it easy here. I’m a cowboy. We talk and listen nice and slow.”

“I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve been so worried. I mean this is the first time I’ve ever done anything like this. I’m usually very calm, in perfect control. Well, maybe not calm, but better than this.” Her eyes darted from one side of the terminal to the other. “I’m not afraid or anything. Well, actually, I am a little scared, but it’s just because this is, well, you know, like stepping into a James Bond movie. Not that I think I’m a femme fatale. I didn’t mean that.”

He shook his head to clear it. If she talked this fast all the time, he’d grow dizzy trying to follow her. “Actually, it probably would be better if we saved the talk for later. Do you have the diskette?”

Her manner changed, grew suspicious. She tilted her head to one side. “I have it.”

He took the handle to her luggage. “Is it in here?”

“Wait a minute. Mr. Aus…, I mean my associate told me that I’m to give the disk to no one but him. I follow orders.”

“I didn’t ask you to give it to me. I only asked where it was. But don’t get all riled up. I was just trying to make sure we kept it safe. Is it in that tote bag you’re carrying?”

Her chin jutted out and her lips curled into a defiant pout. “I don’t like your attitude. I’ve a good mind not to go with you at all.”

Cody shrugged and nudged his tan Stetson back on his head. She was a spunky little thing. He guessed it took that to be the kind of woman who’d sell out to the enemy. “If you don’t go with me, you might not get paid. And your associate would be very upset with both of us. Besides, I have no intention of letting you leave here without me.”

“Okay, but don’t try to boss me around. You’re supposed to protect me and take me to…”

He threw up his hands to stop her babbling. “I’m Cody Gannon and I’m to take you to meet your associate, who we both know is Dan Austin. So let’s just get the show on the road.”

She took off down the corridor, and he followed, pulling her bag behind him. He slowed to dodge a man with a white cane who was walking against the flow of pedestrian traffic. “My truck is just outside,” he said, catching up with her easily.

“I have to stop at baggage claim to get the rest of my luggage. I wasn’t sure where I was going so I had to bring sweaters and jackets and everything.”

“It’s September, Mrs. Rand. You’d have to go a long way to need a suitcase full of sweaters and coats in Texas in September.”

“Well, it’s late September. Anyway, I’m not a Mrs. I was about to tell you that earlier, but you didn’t give me a chance to finish.” She looked down at her stomach. “The baby’s due in late December. I hope it’s born for Christmas. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’s a girl, but I don’t want to know until she’s born.”

She took a deep breath and looked up. It was the first time they’d made real eye contact, and the sudden intimacy of it bothered him. He looked away and walked all the faster.

“I’m sorry,” she said, obviously taking his action for disapproval. “When I get nervous, I just can’t seem to stop talking. Todd says it’s my insecurity. I guess he’s probably right.”

“Who’s Todd?”

“It doesn’t matter.” She stopped talking and stared straight ahead as they made their way toward the baggage area.

From babbling on and on to complete silence. He hoped she wasn’t going to be one of those moody types. One thing for sure, when he agreed to Dan’s offer, he hadn’t expected that he’d be leading a pregnant woman into a trap that would get her arrested and sent to prison.

Strange, he was supposed to be one of the good guys, but he felt a lot like a rat. He walked beside Sarah to claim her baggage, wishing every second that Dan Austin would call. The sooner he made the delivery and walked away from this, the better he would like it.

“I need to stop at the ladies’ room,” Sarah said. “Why don’t you go on to the baggage area, and I’ll meet you there?”

“No way. I was told to stick to you like flies to a Fudgsicle.”

“I don’t know why. I came this far. I’m not running out now.”

“I’m just following orders.” He took her arm and guided her to a spot by the wall where he would be out of the line of traffic but could still see the restroom door. “When you finish, meet me right here.”

“If you’re going to wait on me anyway, you can hold this.” She thrust the tote bag in his direction.