“His job. Which is making sure no one tries to abduct you again or shoot you.”
Her shoulders slumped. Hard to argue with that. “All right, fine. I’ll take good ol’ Frank with me.” She started for the door.
“There’s one more thing.”
She turned back. “What’s that?”
“You forgot to kiss me good-bye.”
Her eyes widened. “Seriously?”
His sexy mouth edged up. “Seriously.”
Something melted inside her. She walked back to him, went up on her toes, and pressed a soft kiss on his lips. “Bye, Linc.”
When she started to turn and leave, he hauled her back into his arms and took the kiss to a whole different level. “I’ll pick you up around lunchtime and we’ll go see Conchita.”
Ignoring a flare of heat, Carly headed for the truck. “Sounds good,” she called over her shoulder, then climbed in behind the wheel and slammed the door.
“I want to apologize for the other night,” Frank said from the other side of the vehicle. “To tell you the truth, I underestimated you and the situation. It won’t happen again.”
“Good to know.”
She drove down the dirt road toward the main house, noticed a pair of men wearing camouflage and tactical vests riding ATVs.
Carly slowed. “What’s going on?”
“Mr. Cain isn’t taking any chances. Until we know more about the situation, he’s got security set up around the main house and the ranch house.”
“The situation with El Jefe?” Ross Townsend knew about the drug lord. He and Frank Marino had been there the night she’d been abducted.
“Him, or that bunch of fanatics lined up at the gate yesterday morning.”
She blew out a breath. It seemed as if trouble was all around them. “I guess it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
“Exactly,” Frank said. He was wearing a shoulder holster under a lightweight jacket, letting her drive so he could be ready for trouble if it came.
Any day she expected to hear from El Jefe. They needed to figure things out and they needed to do it soon.
* * *
Linc arrived to pick up Carly at eleven-thirty that morning. She looked frustrated and frazzled, the phone stuck to her ear as she talked to customers and tried to sort out problems.
She shoved the signed loan papers toward him. Linc picked them up, stuffed them into his briefcase, and flipped the latches. He phoned his people and had the money transferred into the Drake Trucking account at the Iron Springs Credit Union.
Carly hung up the phone and leaned back in her chair. “I told him the check was going in the mail today. I don’t think he believed me.”
“He’ll believe you when he gets the check. Money’s being transferred as we speak. You ready to go?”
She stood up from behind her desk, grabbed her purse, and slung the strap over her shoulder. Linc held the door for her and she walked out into the main office, where she paused to speak to Donna.
“Ever ything’s set,” Carly said. “I’ll need those checks ready for my signature when I get back.”
“No problem,” Donna said with a smile. “I’ll put them on your desk.”
Linc escorted Carly out of the building, passing Frank as he led her to his truck. “Take a break and get some lunch,” Linc said. “We’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
“Yes, sir.”
