Page 42 of Safeguarding the Witness

“You tell me,” he said. “The note was in your handwriting.”

“If you check, I’m sure you’ll find the note was typed. Julio learned to fake my signature years ago.”

“How do you know about the note?”

“Some of Julio’s men—like Easton—are loyal to me,” she said. “Doesn’t matter now. They’ve spotted you. Julio tricked you into coming here and making a fool of yourself.”

Spence didn’t want to waste time throwing accusations back and forth. “Where would he take Mollie? Where should we look?”

“If it was up to me…” She glanced over her shoulder. “…I’d go to the horse barn. From there, he and his men could get her into a car and drive away.”

Her gaze dropped to her feet and her forehead crinkled. The mannerism was similar to what Mollie did when she was hiding something. “What else? There’s something you need to tell me. What is it?”

“Ask your friend, Agent Jamison. He can put you in touch with the undercover agent who has been spying on Julio and me for five years. I can’t give you his name. I don’t know what he’s calling himself.”

A meeting with the undercover guy was already in his plans. “How should I approach him? If you care about your sister’s safety, you’ve got to help me.”

“Figure it out for yourself. You’re supposed to be the investigator.” She sucked a breath through her teeth. “Out of respect for Irma, I won’t tell you what I’m thinking about you, Spence. It’s too obscene. As for Mollie, I care about her. With all my heart and soul. I’ve been keeping her safe in WITSEC.”

He didn’t know what she was talking about. The whole point of WITSEC was to protect. “She wasn’t in danger.”

“You have no idea how close the cartel came to harming her. In Salt Lake City, I stepped in. It was me who sent that teal dress. I knew it was her favorite color.”

He remembered Mollie telling him about a stalker. It was her sister. “Why didn’t you just tell her?”

“If I came too close, she’d be threatened.”

“You paid off the marshals to do what you wanted,” he guessed. “Started working with Youngblood.”

“And that flat-footed cowboy double-crossed me. He’s playing on Julio’s team.” Her lips twisted in a ferocious sneer. “He’s here. In the barn.”

Spence communicated the information to Rossi and Jamison. “Check in the barn. Approach with extreme care. Julio’s men are armed.”

“I’ll be leaving now,” Madison said. “Your fight is with Julio. Not with me.”

He figured that she hadn’t come here alone, and he didn’t want to start a battle with her hired men. They probably had weapons trained on him right now. “How can I reach you?”

“Through Dad,” she said. “He has my number.”

Mollie’s father? The threads of these relationships were twisting into a Gordian knot. Impossible to untangle. Prioritizing Mollie’s safety, he realized the only safe course was to let Madison go free. He released her. “I’m glad we met.”

“Aren’t you the trusting one. You and Mollie make a good match.” She flashed a brilliant smile. “By the way, you didn’t mean what you said about my kiss, did you?”

“Yeah, I meant it.” He turned toward the horse barn. “Mollie’s better.”

* * *

Mollie gripped the vial of pepper spray. The strength and flexibility had returned to her hand. She tried wiggling her toes and felt the muscles and tendons waking up. Though not sure she could successfully run from her captors, she was regaining her ability to function. If she could get close enough to use her pepper spray, she could blind them with the oleoresin capsicum and run. In the backyard, she could lose herself in the crowd.

She tilted her head and saw an incredibly handsome man with bedroom eyes, full lips and sleek black hair. Where had he come from? She’d never met him, but she’d seen photos and that damn video before the yacht exploded. He sauntered toward her with the natural confidence of a man who ruled the world and merely deigned to allow others to occupy space. A born leader, he reeked of charisma and musky cologne. Not Mollie’s taste, but she understood her sister’s attraction to this bad boy.

He leaned down and gave her a warm smile, designed to melt her resistance. “You are the very image of my beloved Princesa.”

Remembering the sadness he’d inflicted upon her family by abducting Madison and then faking her death, she was repulsed by this lying, selfish, evil slimeball. Still, she forced herself to smile back. “Julio Flores. Are you really here? After your men drugged me, I can’t trust my vision. I’ve been hallucinating.”

“I regret that such methods had to be used.” His light accent made every word sound sexy. “It was necessary to subdue you. So you would listen to me.”

“I could listen to a phone call. Or read an email.”