Waiting at the conference room doorway, he leaned against the doorjamb while she finished straightening chairs. Closing blinds. Refilling the coffee tray with sugar and cream and stirs, cups and lids and assorted coffee pods. When she finally walked in his direction, a flame of heat hit his core.
Suddenly she looked at him with a touch of fear in her eyes. “Or my family. Me I risk. Family never.” She bit her bottom lip to stop the quiver in her chin. “Promise me. Promise…”
Everything inside him crumbled. Why had he ever left Crayton? Left Betsy? She’d always been too honest and upright for her own good. Standing here in front of him, begging for her family, only reaffirmed nothing had changed on that front.
Shadow hadn’t lied about the cartel giving him assignments to watch her at Joanie’s, but he had to be wrong about her being a willing part of whatever was going on. Now it was Cain’s job to keep her from stumbling into something she knew nothing about.
“I promise, Betsy. I’ll do everything within my power to keep everyone safe.” He pushed an errant strand of hair back behind her ear, then cupped her chin in his hand. “Especially you.”
She didn’t pull away, just looked up into his eyes as her lips slipped a sliver-of-hope apart. Slowly, he lowered his head and lightly kissed her lips. She barely returned the offer before she broke contact and clicked off the conference room lights as she walked into the main area of the dealership.
“What’s the matter, Betsy? Afraid you might learn to like me?”
Following her as she locked up for the day, he made sure to watch her ritual. Noticed a few things he’d have done differently. Maybe he’d gradually mention some security improvements. Not today though.
Walking beside her across the parking lot gave him a chance to ask her some business questions. Most were easy and relaxed things about the business. Some had her making a detour to show him something specific.
Finally, as they headed back across the lot to where she always parked by the back door, she clicked the start button on her key fob. “Heat should at least take the chill off before we get there.”
“That’s one thing I regret not having.” He glanced at his seven-year-old truck. Might not be new, but it was paid-in-full. Had a lot of miles on it though. He’d used it a few times on assignments besides a couple road trips to Alaska to visit his dad. “Might have to think about an upgrade soon.”
Betsy smiled. “I know someone who can get you a good deal on a brand new, top of the line RAM or F-150.” Betsy smiled as she swept her arm around the dealership as if she were a car-show model pointing out the features on the newest line.
He laughed. “I bet you can.”
“Extended cab. Upgraded rims. Any color you want. I’ll even throw in the price of the remote start.”
“I’ll take a raincheck on that. Once I sell the house, I may just take you up on a new one.” Raising his hands in surrender, he realized just how much he’d missed the joking way he and Betsy used to banter with each other. His gut tightened… Or was this a bribe cleverly mingled in with the conversation?
“By the way, if I have any more questions about this plan, who should I contact? You? JB? Deputy Evans? Officer Kennett?”
“I’ll get back for sure with you on that,” he said. “For now, just make sure you’ve got all our numbers on speed dial. If you can’t reach one of us, then push the next button until you do.”
“Sounds good. See you next week.” She clicked the unlock button on the driver’s side door.
Resting his hand on the handle, he paused instead of opening the door. “I just wanted to say how proud I am of you. You’ve got a nice business here, Betsy.”
“Thank you. I work hard to give the community what they need.” She raised her eyebrows. “Keeping the bills paid isn’t always easy, but I’ve been able to expand every year.”
“That’s a feat unto itself. Before I left town after high school, I remember this being maybe a third of this size. One of my last memories, as I was on my way out of town, was watching them bulldoze down the car lot’s sign. They’d already flattened the building on the lot next door.”
“A week later the new sign was installed. Lots bigger. Huge spotlights on it and” —she rolled her eyes— “the dealership’s name had changed to Big Papa Carrington’s Dealership. BPC for short. The next month he held a massive used car sale. You should have seen it.”
“Wouldn’t have mattered to me. I wasn’t in the market for a new car. I was in the market for getting the heck out of Crayton.”
“Oh, but there’s more. A few weeks after that, BPC announced they’d signed a franchise agreement with one automotive company. And that the modernized, cutting-edge service center would be opening soon.”
Cain’s interest was peaking. How had that small car lot become such a thriving business so fast? The franchises weren’t cheap.
“Interesting. Did he have a backer?”
“Not that anyone has ever been able to prove.”
“The Carringtons never struck me as wealthy. Of course, you never know what’s in a person’s bank account.”
“True, but he seemed to be working hard to grow the business,” she said.
“Such as?”
