Tall, Dark, Texas Ranger / Once Upon A Christmas Eve: Tall, Dark, Texas Ranger. Christine Flynn
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in Spanish. No surprise.
Growing up in El Paso, he knew enough to get by, but with everyone speaking at once, he only managed some key words, like “delivery” but he needed to hear a time or a date.
What the hell was being delivered? Drugs? Was this what the informant was trying to tell them? Give us the times and dates of the deliveries. Was this what Stephanie and Santos wanted from Lilly? Damn, he needed more answers.
Suddenly he heard his name and turned around to see Lilly coming toward him. Coop glanced toward the clearing. The others had heard her, too. The men dispersed, except for Santos who headed their way.
There wasn’t anything Coop could do but fake his way out of it. When Lilly finally reached him, he grabbed hold of her and pulled her against him as his mouth covered hers.
CHAPTER EIGHT
LILLY was caught totally off guard when Noah reached for her. He wasn’t gentle as his mouth closed over hers, but raw hunger didn’t allow finesse. Nor did she want it to.
Slipping her arms around his neck, she had no plans to stop what was happening. The feel of his mouth against hers stole her breath, causing her heart to drum against her ribs. The sound pounded in her ears. Mostly she reveled in the joy of being in Noah’s arms.
With a groan, he moved his hands over her back and pulled her tighter against him. She reacted with a moan and opened to him. It didn’t take long as his tongue moved against hers, sending shivers down her spine.
Then his mouth broke away, but she didn’t have a chance to miss it as he nibbled his way along her jaw to her ear.
“Lilly … We’re being watched, follow my lead.”
Watched? Who was watching? She managed to nod. Then his mouth returned to hers. She couldn’t stop a moan as he worked his magic again.
“Perdon, señora.”
Lilly jumped and turned around to find Rey Santos. “Oh, Rey.”
The man’s somber look slowly turned into a grin. “Sorry to disturb you.” He glared at Noah. “I wanted to make sure you are all right.”
Lilly worked to control her breathing, but couldn’t speak.
“Why wouldn’t she be?” Noah asked. “Except maybe from people sneaking up on her,” he went on as he pulled her closer.
Santos’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe the woods isn’t the safest place to be … with your mujer.”
Noah’s woman. Lilly had to admit she liked that idea.
“We wanted to be alone,” Noah told him. “I had no idea the woods would be so crowded.”
Santos continued to stare at him. “Next time be more careful.” He turned and marched off.
Noah dropped his arms from her and she swung around. “Okay, what’s going on?”
Coop refused to put Lilly in any more danger. “I’m not sure. Santos has been acting strange and I followed him out here. He met up with some men. I didn’t want him to know I was watching him, and when you came …” He looked at her. A mistake. Her lips were still swollen from his kisses. She was killing him. “Why were you looking for me?”
“Wait! That kiss was to distract Santos?”
He started to nod, but then confessed, “Okay, I might have gone a little overboard, but you’re a very tempting woman. I apologize for taking advantage of the situation.”
This time she seemed flustered. Hell, didn’t she know how appealing she was? And that was something he couldn’t let tempt him again. “Why did you want to see me?”
She shook her head. “Stephanie cornered me in the hall. She insisted I look for a box with Mike’s tax papers. Then when I told her I didn’t know anything about a box, she got irritated again.” Her gaze met his. “It’s not tax papers is it, Noah?”
He tried to act innocent. “What else could it be?”
“I don’t know.” Lilly was worried. “The way Mike had been acting the past year … and Stephanie’s boyfriend … Could it be something illegal?”
Coop shook his head. “There’s no proof.”
“I didn’t ask that. There’s something going on. I know it. Ever since Rey Santos started working in the business it’s been different.” She tried to swallow her panic. “Oh, God, was Mike involved, too? That has to be it. I know this is Stephanie’s fault. I’m going to give her a piece of my mind.”
Lilly started to walk off and Coop caught her by the arm. “No, Lilly. If what you suspect is true, it could be dangerous to confront them.”
Her gaze met his. “Then what do I do, just let them keep threatening me?”
“Maybe we can find what they’re looking for. Do you think that your husband might have left something with you?”
She’d been trying to rack her brain. “I can’t swear to it. I know, I told Stephanie I didn’t have anything of Mike’s. And I didn’t take anything from his home office, but that doesn’t mean things didn’t get mixed up.”
Coop was grasping at anything that might trip her memory. “Would he leave anything important behind?”
She hesitated. “All the important documents and papers went into the wall safe at our house.”
A wall safe? “Well, whoever lives there now has probably already looked inside.”
She shook her head. “The house is empty. Besides, the safe is well hidden. Mike had it put in himself.” She sighed. “Maybe I should remind Stephanie about it and she can look for herself. Then she’ll leave me alone. No! I should go. There could be other important papers in the safe.”
If there was proof of Santos’s or Delgado’s illegal activity, he didn’t want to hand it over to him. He was pretty sure Mike Perry died because of this. These guys weren’t taking any prisoners. It wasn’t safe for any of them. “I don’t think it’s safe for you to go into that house. Not alone.”
“Then come with me.”
Three hours later, Coop didn’t want to think about the rules he was about to violate. Lilly was going to break into her old house. Since nothing he said or did had changed her mind, his only choice was to go along as her accomplice.
Once the kids were shipped off to friends’ houses for a sleepover, and Beth and Sean left the Casali barbecue for an evening of dancing, it was only the two of them heading back to town.
“Do you still have a key?”
“Yes,” she said, digging through her purse. “I haven’t been able to take it off my key ring.” She glanced across the dark truck cab. “How pathetic is that?”
“Not pathetic at all. It was your home, where you raised your kids. More than likely the bank changed the locks.”
“Probably. After Mike’s suicide there was an investigation for a few days.”
The night sky didn’t allow him to see her face, but he could hear the pain in her voice. “Did he die at the house?”
“Yes,” she said in a soft voice. “The garage. He died of asphyxiation from carbon monoxide.”
Coop knew all this. “God, Lilly I’m sorry.”
Lilly nodded, trying to keep it together. “Not many people want to live in a house where someone has died.”
“Then you shouldn’t go back there, either.”
“Yes, I should. I need to end this once and for all. If Mike did something illegal, I need to know. I have to protect my kids. If he didn’t and we find these papers, Stephanie will be out