“Those guys weren’t muggers,” he said. “They wanted more than just your tempting little body. Something’s going on. What is it?”
She hesitated several moments. Then a sigh whispered out. “Someone broke into my house this morning after I left. When I came home from the sheriff’s office, I found a note on the coffee table. The message was a warning. ‘Sell Drake Trucking to Cain and you’ll be as dead as Hernandez.’”
Frustration tore through him. “Why didn’t you call me? I gave you my card. I told you if you needed anything—”
“I called the sheriff. A deputy named Rollins came out and took my statement. He dusted for fingerprints around the broken window. They’re also checking for fingerprints on the note.”
He wanted to shake her, make her understand that he was there for her. He summoned his legendary control. “How did these guys know about the offer I made?”
“I don’t know. People saw you at the yard. Donna asked me about it. I told her you wanted to buy the company. Since I didn’t plan to sell, it wasn’t really a secret.”
“No, and word travels fast in Iron Springs. How’s the note connected to what happened tonight?”
She wrapped her hands around the mug as if she needed something to hold on to. “The men in the parking lot . . . they asked if I’d gottentheir message. They said they wanted me to understand how easy it would be to kill me. They said someone named El Jefe wanted a meeting. They said they’d let me know when and where.”
Anger whipped through him, made his neck feel tight. “How’d they know you were at Jubal’s?”
Her head came up. “I don’t know. I hadn’t thought about it until now, but . . . they must have been watching the yard, followed me after I left the office. Or they could have been watching my house. I stopped at home to change before I went out.”
He shoved up from the table, paced away and back, trying to work off some steam. The place was empty except for an old man in a knit cap sipping coffee at the far end of the counter.
Linc took a couple of calming breaths, returned to the table, and sat back down. “I wish I’d punched that bastard harder.”
Carly didn’t quite smile. “What about El Jefe? Do you know who he is?”
“No, but by tomorrow I will.”
Her mug trembled when she lifted it. She steadied her grip and took a drink, then set the mug back down on the table. He forced himself not to reach for her hand.
“They warned me not to call the police.”
He sighed. “Howler’s a worthless piece of . . . The sheriff’s worthless anyway. Until we know what’s going on, it might be better to leave him out of it.”
She took a sip of coffee. It was black and old this time of night, but she didn’t complain.
“I want you to know you can trust me, Carly. Your grandfather did. I went to see Joe at the hospital after his first heart attack. I promised him if anything happened to him, I’d look out for you. It’s what Joe wanted.”
She straightened in her chair, blue eyes zeroing in on his face. “Wait a minute. That’s what your sudden interest in buying Drake was all about? You were doing it for Joe?”
“Drake’s a viable company, worth my time. But the truth is I owe Joe, Carly. When I got out of prison, I was a pariah to everyone around. I hadno money. No one would hire me. I couldn’t get work as a dog catcher. I heard Drake Trucking was looking for a laborer. The day I interviewed for the job, I told Joe the truth, that I was an ex-con trying to turn my life around. Joe stepped up. He gave me work doing odd jobs in the yard. As soon as I turned twenty-one, he taught me to drive a truck. I learned the business, learned to be a man instead of a loser.”
“Why don’t I remember you?”
“I only worked for Joe a little over a year. You were just a kid back then, a sophomore in high school, I think. Probably more interested in clothes and teenage boys than your grandpa’s business.”
She nodded. “I was pretty much a girlie girl back then. I didn’t hit my tomboy phase until a few years later.”
His gaze flicked down to her pretty breasts. Tomboy? Not hardly. “By the time I came back to Iron Springs, you were all grown up and off on your own. But Joe and I stayed friends. Whenever things got tough, I thought of Joe. I knew he was the kind of guy who’d never give up, so I didn’t either. I owe Joe Drake everything and the only thing he ever asked me in return was to watch out for you.”
“I realize you’re trying to help, but—”
“Think about the offer I made. We’ll work out the details, come to an agreement on the price. Whatever’s going on, I’ll handle it and you’ll be safe.”
Carly shot up from her chair. Hands on her hips, she stood there glaring down at him. “I don’t need someone to handle things for me, Cain. I’m twenty-nine years old. I’ve been on my own for years. I owe Joe, too. I’m going to make Drake successful again and I’m going to do it on my own. I don’t want or need any help from you.”
Linc couldn’t believe it. For the first time he could recall, a woman didn’t want something from him. Not his money, not his influence, not his protection.
“Please sit down,” he said calmly, though he didn’t feel calm at all. Carly Drake riled him up in a way no woman ever had. She pissed him off. She challenged him. She heated him up. And he liked it.
