CRIMINAL ALLIANCE
by Angi Morgan
Book 4 in Texas Brothers of Company B
(formerly Ranger Warrior)
Just another two-for-one
long neck Friday special. Wade sat on the same bar stool he’d ended his nights on
and had claimed for years. This particular stool was the last one next to the
wall, located where no one could catch him by surprise. Only his right side was
open to patrons. Better for his vision, especially now that it got fuzzy from
time to time.
He should be somewhere
else.
Maybe
somewhere more respectable for a Texas Ranger. That wasn’t here. Someplace he
could share that he was a ranger. Or maybe with his friends. But they all had girlfriends.
Heath was back home with his wife. Slate might as well be married. And Jack—his
so-called partner—was engaged.
He should
find some other friends. Maybe some who liked to…to what? Watch a game? Play
trivia over some chicken wings? It didn’t matter where he went or what bar stool
he ended up on. He’d still be looking at every dark-haired woman who walked in
the door to see if it was her.
Dammit. He couldn’t keep this up.
Six weeks was long enough visiting bars on lower Greenville Avenue. His search
for Agent Therese Ortis needed to end.
Soon. No.
Tonight. He’d shown his face once too often in other dives. Earlier the
barkeeps had waved him past their place, in a hurry to get the discouraged
ranger on his way. His badge was far from good for their business.
So here he
sat. His go-to joint that knew him from way back. The one place where they gave
him a pass for having a badge.
Twisting the
rest of his lime slice into his Mexican beer, he studied the peel—more
interested in the citrus than in anyone around him. He needed to take Jack’s
advice. If Therese wanted to get in touch… Well, she knew how. She’d done it
before to save Megan and a second time to save his hide before Rushdan Reval
blew him up inside a building.
Across the
room, the door banged open. Heads— including his—turned toward the noise.
What the hell?
“Wade!” The
woman who had haunted his dreams crossed the sixty feet, dodging drunks and
other happy-hour patrons who had quickly returned to their conversations.
“You have
got…” she began too loudly before nervously looking around and landing next to
him at the bar. “You’ve got to stop your…your inquiries. Are you listening to
me? I’m furious.”
No, he hadn’t
been listening. She was dressed in the smallest bright yellow dress—more like a
piece of a dress that could still be respectful—and he barely noticed anything
else. The color set off her dark brown hair.
The bling
around her neck drew his eyes straight to the diving-low plunge between her
breasts. How the hell was she walking in those heels?
Shoot. How
did the dress stay in place?
The woman
who’d actually 100 percent saved his life licked her lips and drew a deep
breath. Trying to ignore her, he looked down at the bar, stabbing the three
lime slices with a plastic sword.
“Hey, Wade,
hon?” Her erotic voice whispered close to his ear while her feathery touch on
his hand shot all sorts of feelings through him.
Six weeks
without a word.
And she was
mad. At him?
Even though
she’d been caught working with crooks last year, he’d never believed she was on
the wrong side of the law. Something in their sparse conversations had
forbidden him from thinking badly of her. Then six weeks ago he’d found out—like
a kick to the head—she was working with the FBI or something. Nobody talked.
Lots of secrets. Had he forgiven her for taking away a major case?
Probably not.
There was no
mistake who she spoke to. She’d stopped so close her breath of air brushed his
bare neck, encouraging him to act. But he wouldn’t. He didn’t have the right.
Even if she had called him hon.
“I like you
in a T-shirt. It shows off these strong arms. But this button-up looks great on
you, too. It brings out the steel blue in your eyes.”
He could
tell her he liked her dress. Or not.
Yeah, she
squeezed his biceps. Yeah, she puckered her lips together like she waited for a
kiss.
“No.”
“Are you
sure?” She eased onto the stool next to him, her long legs reaching sideways
under his. Damn, that yellow silky thing climbed up to her hip. “I haven’t even
asked anything.”
Wait. Were
they talking about a kiss or the favor he thought she was about to ask? He
should consider himself lucky that the stools weren’t close enough for him to
pull her onto his lap to find out. Lucky?
Therese
twisted away from him to face the opening door and back again with a blank
look. A big fella walked inside, propping the door open with his foot and
calling to a buddy on the sidewalk. They both entered, finally shutting the
door to keep the cooler air in and the blistering summer heat outside.
Everything
about her demeanor changed. Where she’d been full of anger she was now soft.
She closed her eyes, drawing a deep breath through her nose and making her
breasts swell in the tight dress. Then she wet her lip gloss with the tip of
her tongue. To stop his drool, he tipped the beer to his mouth, drinking her in
with his eyes.
The fresh
burst of lime made him lick his lips, or was he mirroring the seductress beside
him? Then her dark red lips parted ever so slowly. Slower than necessary and
very practiced. Hell, he could give in right then, doing whatever she asked,
having no idea what it might be.
Instead he
broke off his stare and looked around the intimate, off-the-beaten-path bar. Mostly regulars with the exception of the last two men. Every corner was
shadowed and filled with secrets, but he didn’t butt his nose in. He knew the
ins and outs. Knew what to expect. He’d been coming here since college and it
didn’t hurt that no one broadcast that he was a Texas Ranger. He’d never had a
need to show his badge. Not here.
“I know it’s
been a while since I’ve called. Please don’t be annoyed with me.” She swiveled
on the stool, reaching for his limes, daring him not to look down the low-cut
dress she flashed under his chin.
“I’d have to
care to be angry. Or annoyed,” he lied. He didn’t know the reason for her
personality switch, but he’d play along.
“There’s
just been a lot going on, hon—” She pouted.
Pouted? Therese Ortis didn’t seem
the pouting kind.
What the
hell was going on? She knew he’d been looking for her and seemed pretty doggone
upset about it less than five minutes ago.
“So you aren’t
angry, annoyed or even a little hurt, baby?” she smiled with a knowing smile,
circling a deep red nail around the back of his hand.
Hon? Baby? What was she trying to pull? She reached out, taking
his extra lime and swiping her tongue across it. She knew exactly how to make him nervous. But
she was the one shaking like a leaf in a windstorm—the only thing that kept him
from showing her just how angry he wasn’t.
Yeah, he was
succumbing to the seductress line. What man wouldn’t? But it was the trembling
that got him.
Her eyes
darted in every direction, checking for trouble. The bartender walked to the
other end of the room and she leaned in close.
“I need a
big favor. I can explain everything if you give me a chance.”
Even though
the intensity changed from flirtatious to urgent, he still answered, “I’m all
out.”
Explain? Nice fantasy. Therese
never explained. He poured more than a sip of beer down his throat. He tipped
the bottle toward her, politely asking if she wanted something. She shook her
head while he caught the bartender’s eye and ordered two more.
“I promise
not to land you on desk duty again. What do you say?” she asked in a low,
sensual voice he had fallen prey to a few times already.
Wade had
wanted to connect with her for over a year. Why the hesitation? Desk duty. Uncertainty. Tired of being
used. Downright irritation at being ignored.
“I say—” he
grinned way too big “—that you haven’t mentioned anything I haven’t heard
before.”
“I’m sure
that can’t be true,” she still whispered.
“Considering
I can recall all seven conversations we’ve ever had… Yeah, I’m pretty sure I
can clearly remember every word that you’ve said.” And exactly what you haven’t.
“I really,
really think you’re going to be interested in my favor, hon.”
“Nope,” he
kept his voice low, matching hers.
He was done.
Had nothing left. Finished. Kaput. Refused to get involved. Remember? And yet, completely curious.
“Is there
anything I could do or say to change your mind?” She drew circles on his
shoulder, dragging her long fingernail down his arm until she got to his hand.
She looked
innocent. If he knew her better he might think she seemed desperate. But he
didn’t know her better. She came to him when she needed something. Case or no
case, he didn’t like being used.
And he hated
giving in to her, to anybody.
Therese’s
eyes darted to the mirror.
The two large
men moved away from the opposite end of the bar and Therese stiffened. Obvious
to him since she held his hand. Probably not obvious to the men who had eyes
for no one else in the room. They looked like typical guys, with the exception
of the bulges under their jackets. Jackets worn for the simple reason of hiding
the weapons.
They were
there for her—obviously.
“Wade,” she
said way too loudly. “I’m so hungry.”
“What?”
She dropped
a finger across his lips to stop his next question. Her eyes moved to the mirror.
His hand gently tugged hers from his face back to the bar and slid a longneck
bottle into it.
“I guess I need to hear
about that favor after all.” He squeezed a lime slice and pushed it through the
sweating bottle.
Coming from Angi Morgan, Valentine's Day 2020
