He turned the key in the ignition. One thing for sure, he might help the police with this stakeout, but no way in hell would he ever walk into a family drug cartel again. Never again stand in front of the head man, knowing he had slim to no chance of leaving alive. Knowing the two choices he had. Turn. Or die.
The only thing that had saved him that day had been the quick thinking of another agent so deeply embedded he’d already kissed any chance of a normal life goodbye.
Cain figured a man only had so many free passes in life, and he doubted he had any left after that night. Still, he sometimes wondered what his answer would have been if the cavalry hadn’t come charging in at the last minute. Would he have traded his ethics for his life? Or his life for his reputation?
He’d never know that answer. He’d never put himself in that position again. He’d made himself a promise to never again risk everything.
His cell phone rang, and he answered before the first ringtone ended. “This is Cain.”
“This is Joanie. I’m over at the pool and pub side of the restaurant. I’ve got a special-order pizza waiting here for you.”
“For me? I didn’t order a pizza.” Cain glanced at the clock. It was barely 9:30 on a cloudy Saturday morning. “Especially this early in the day.”
“You’re telling me.” Joanie sighed. “Less than an hour ago, I was greeting all the breakfast customers at my café next door. Next thing I know, this guy sitting at the end of the counter slips me an envelope with your name on it and a hundred-dollar bill. Said you were a little busy last night, and he didn’t get to say hello. Thought you might like a pizza first thing this morning.”
Cain appreciated the gesture. “Listen it’s a little early for pizza. Why don’t you give that to the first customer at the bar today?”
“Don’t think I can do that,” Joanie said, almost as quiet as a whisper. “The man told me to double box the pizza and put the envelope between them. Said he trusted me.”
Cain didn’t need to ask, but he did. “Who was it?”
“Don’t know his name. I just think of him as the guy in the white Stetson who orders jalapeño pizza.”
“I’ll be there in a couple minutes. And Joanie, I trust you, too.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Saturday, 3:00 p.m., and Betsy breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the last customer of the day drive out of Peyton’s lot. Today had been especially long and stressful.
What with Earl in the hospital, they’d been short-staffed in the service center. Appointment times had backed up from the get-go. There’d been the usual roadside emergencies. Lots of people upset with the inconvenient situation. To top everything off, there were the usual just plain cranky people.
Thank goodness a few customers had rescheduled for next week when she’d offered a twenty percent discount. Saturdays were usually short days, and everyone was out by 1:00, but the employees had taken the overtime in stride.
Steven had called early that morning to let her know his dad had had a severe reaction to whatever the drugs had been laced with. The doc thought he’d pull through, but for now Earl was hooked up to a breathing machine. Steven planned to stay with his mom at the hospital.
Betsy told him family was his number one priority right now. And not to worry about his dad’s lost wages, she’d make good on every cent, whether Earl worked or not. The job would be waiting for him when he recuperated. No one deserved the phone call that family had received last night.
Finished for the day, she set the alarms for the main showroom, then headed down the hall to the conference room and the police. JB had called a few hours ago asking if they could get together for a talk after Peyton’s closed. She’d said sure, but still asked why. All he’d say was that there’d been a number of drug calls last night. By that time, she’d already heard five versions of the past eight hours from five different customers.
Walking into the conference room, she was surprised to see not only her brother-in-law, Acting Sheriff JB, dressed in all his spit-and-polish police uniform, and Deputy Evans, but also Cain Connery. Upon seeing her, he leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. Guess he wasn’t happy about being there either.
“Why is he here?” She stared in Cain’s direction as she made eye contact with him, then moved to the chair at the end of the table. “I didn’t realize there’d be anyone except the police.”
“He’s working on the drug case with us, so we wanted him to be here,” Evans said.
“Is that a problem?” Cain braced his hands on the armrests of the chair and started to rise. “Because I can leave.”
She wouldn’t let him get to her, but if it weren’t for the fact he might be of help to the police she’d ask him to leave. Her business was her priority at any meeting. “No problem. If JB wants you here, there must be a reason.”
One of Joanie’s pizza boxes sat on the table in front of him.
He paused, lowered back down into the chair, and crossed his arms again. A bristling vibe floated between them, one she had no one to blame for but herself. Her rejection of dinner last night must have done the trick because she had the distinct impression there’d be nothing between them today but business. Probably every day for the rest of the time he was in town, too.
She’d tossed and turned most of the night, so any good news would be a bright spot in her day. Now she turned toward JB. “You said you needed to talk to me about Earl. Has there been a change this afternoon?”
“None that we’ve heard of,” Evans said.
“Maybe no news is good news.” Her statement didn’t even make sense to herself. “Anyhow, you said you had a proposition for me. What’s up?”
