“Because I don’t trust you.”

Hooker munched a french fry. “Why not? Because I’m a merc?”

“That, and because you’re working for Russo.”

“Did work for him.” He pulled out a cheeseburger and unwrapped it. “I’m not gonna have a job after this. Russo sent me after the money, and since you’re busy spending it and I’m getting a cut, that’s not gonna happen.”

“That’s my point,” Jane said. “You have no loyalty.”

“Not strictly true.” Hooker lifted a shoulder. “I’m loyal until the job is done. And to prove it”—he took a bite of his cheeseburger, took his time chewing, and swallowed—“I’ll let you in on something you don’t know.”

Jane sighed and put her wrappers into the bag. “I’m all ears.”

“Russo tipped off one of the deputies in the sheriff’s department about your meet with the Renegades. Only he screwed with the details a bit. The Renegades thought you were gonna try to take them out. That’s what started the whole firefight that ended up getting your old man killed.”

The fury burning in Jane’s chest exploded behind her eyes. Her vision went red until she blinked it clear. “Russo. He double-crossed us.”

“And that’s loyalty for you.” Hooker reached into the bag for another cheeseburger. “Fifty-fifty split and I’m yours till the job is done.”

“Let’s go see your friends,” Jane said. “Then we’ll talk.”

*

Franklin paced restlessly in front of the french doors leading onto the deck outside the cabin’s great room while Nora disconnected her call and made notes on her tablet. A fire burned in the huge stone fireplace. Snow fell, obscuring the road up the mountainside, isolating them in his mountain retreat. Any other time he would have welcomed the time away from prying eyes, but he couldn’t relax.

He’d have to go home soon or fabricate some excuse for his wife. Maintaining the charade of his marriage was important. Preserving some semblance of her happiness was insurance. He doubted that she’d ever think of leaving him. She didn’t have the spine for it, and the pills and alcohol kept her mind too clouded to conceive of any other life. But her family still controlled a large part of her wealth, and he couldn’t afford to lose that pipeline if they decided she was better off without him. Derek would chafe at his absence as well. And if he stayed another night here with Nora, he wasn’t sure he could keep up with the physical demands. His cock barely twitched at the idea of fucking her anytime soon. Her appetites were fed by challenge, and going head-to-head with Powell was a big challenge. He turned when he felt her behind him. “Well?”

“I’ve got you lined up for a town meeting, a banquet with the Midwest Farm Consortium, and giving the keynote speech at the United Cattlemen’s annual meeting.” Nora stretched, showing her teeth in a satisfied smile. If she’d been a big cat, she’d have blood on her canines. Her breasts, unfettered by a bra, pressed against her silk blouse, her nipples puckered beneath the material. Her eyes glinted, feral and hungry. “Satisfied?”

“Of course. You always satisfy.”

She laughed and stroked his stomach. “I haven’t told you the best part yet.”

He tensed when she reached for his belt. “What would that be?”

“The kickoff for the cattlemen will be an outdoor auction opposite Powell’s grandstand final stop in Flagstaff.” She loosened his belt. “He’s got a parade and a speech planned in the plaza.”

“Head-to-head with him.” Franklin laughed, and damn if his cock didn’t start to get hard. “You’re perfect.”

She opened his pants, reached inside, and knelt in front of him. “Aren’t I.”

*

Jane pulled around behind the warehouse and parked. A black Hummer was the only other vehicle in sight. She glanced at Hooker. “Really? Couldn’t they be less obvious?”

“Hey.” He spread his hands. “You didn’t give me a lot of time to set things up. What you’re looking for isn’t exactly common street merchandise.”

“If this is a trap, you’ll be the first to go down.”

“Why would I do that?”

“How do you know the DEA or ATF isn’t on to these people and just waiting for the meet to take us all at once?”

“I don’t.”

Jane studied him for a long moment. “That might be the first truthful thing you’ve ever said to me.”

He shook his head. “I told you about Russo. There was no percentage in that for me.”

He wasn’t lying about that either. She pulled her Glock out of her coat pocket, checked the magazine, and jacked a cartridge into the chamber. “Let’s go. We’re here. We’re doing it.”

Hooker pulled his automatic from his waistband, checked it, and slid it into the front pocket of his coat. “You have the thirty grand they want?”

“Yes, and I plan to give it to them. A straightforward exchange and we’re out of there. Ten minutes and then I’m gone.”

“Nice and smooth,” Hooker agreed.

The hairs on the back of Jane’s neck stood up as they walked toward the gray metal door leading into the warehouse. If this was a trap, she was making it easy for whoever waited inside. She didn’t have a choice. If she couldn’t get the explosives, her last best chance at forcing Andrew Powell to free her sister was gone. If Hooker had double-crossed her, she’d probably die before the next ten minutes were up. If federal agents had these people under surveillance and a firefight broke out, she wouldn’t let herself be taken. Either way, this might be the end of the road. Strangely, she felt nothing. Only the kind of wariness she always felt going into a fight. The fear of death was something she’d lost along with her childhood. Hooker looked relaxed, and she wondered if he thought about death. “Do you feel anything?”

“No.” He hesitated. “Actually, that’s not true. Times like this are the only time I do feel anything.”

Another truth. “Keep your eyes open. I’m not in the mood to die today.”

He grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”

The interior of the warehouse was dark and dank and lit only by a few bare bulbs high up in the rafters. Jane and Hooker walked slowly forward on a cracked, grease-stained concrete floor. Two people stepped out of the shadows. One was a woman, tall and blocky in a heavy winter coat, tight jeans, and combat boots. Her blond hair was layered to collar length, her eyes sharp and appraising. A man stood just behind her left shoulder: the muscle. Brutish looking, with a broad boxer’s face that was scarred and pitted, close-cropped black hair, and a heavy merciless jaw. He held an assault rifle across his chest.

“I thought this was a friendly meet,” Jane said flatly, stopping at the edge of the faint circle of light.

The woman smiled, but her eyes didn’t. “Precautions. I don’t know you.”

“I don’t know you either,” Jane said, “but I didn’t step in here planning to kill you.”

The woman glanced at Hooker. “That’s good to know. Let’s get this done.”

“Let’s see the merchandise,” Jane said.

“Let’s see the money,” the woman answered casually.

Jane reached for the flap of her jacket and the muscle lowered his rifle in her direction. She paused, fingers an inch from the jacket. “Friendly exchange, remember?”

“We just want to make sure it stays that way,” the woman said. “So take your time.”

Jane opened her coat with her left hand to show the square package outlined in the zippered lining of her jacket. “I have to reach in here. If you shoot me, Hooker will shoot you.”

The blonde flicked a look at Hooker. “Is that right?”

Hooker shrugged, pulled his hand from his jacket pocket, and pointed his Glock at her. “That’s right.”

The blonde sighed. “Jay.”

The muscle moved the rifle back to rest position.

Jane unzipped her jacket pocket and pulled the flap back enough to reveal the stack of bills inside. “Your turn.”

“Jay,” the blonde said again.

The man backed away into the shadows and returned a second later with a black nylon gym bag. He set it down in the middle of the circle, unzipped it, and peeled back the top to reveal a row of thin clay-colored rectangles lined up inside.

Jane said, “I need to look at it.”

“Go ahead,” the blonde said.

Jane stepped forward, careful not to block Hooker’s line of fire, and crouched down across from Jay. She reached in, extracted a rectangle at random, and sniffed it. She nodded, put it back, and checked two more. If they’d substituted some other material for the explosives, she should have hit a dummy package by now. “All right.”

She took out the money with one hand, grabbed the handles of the duffel with the other, and passed the cash to Jay. He riffled through the bills and grunted.

“Okay.”

They both backed away at the same time until she was beside Hooker and Jay was back at the blonde’s elbow.

“Nice doing business with you,” the blonde said, disappearing into the shadows.

Jane and Hooker backed toward the door. An instant later they were outside and back in the Jeep.

“Satisfied now?” Hooker said.

Jane let out a breath and the tension eased from her chest. She tossed the duffel into the backseat. “I will be, once we’re out of this parking lot.”

“You gonna tell me the plan then?”

Jane glanced at him. “No, but I’ll show you.”

Chapter Twenty-one

Two hundred miles southeast of Colorado Springs, Jane pulled off the highway into a small town whose main street was already closed and shuttered for the night. She cruised the snowy streets until she found the public library and pulled into the parking lot. After hours, the library lot was dark and deserted. Everyone still out was in a hurry to get home. No one would remember them, even if they happened to notice them.

Hooker looked at her. “Got the sudden urge for a book?”