“Did they know?”
He shook his head, giving the horse a final pat. “No. Not until I ran into somebody else like me, who’d lived at the Big House and been taken from here. We worked a couple of small jobs together. I kind of got outed then. It’s funny, Ms. Patti calls us her Lost Boys. The ones who came and stayed for a little while and were forced to leave. I found out she and Douglas looked for those boys, tried to find them. Tried to find me. They couldn’t find me, the government made sure of that, buried my records and/or changed them. But even after nearly two decades, Ms. Patti recognized me the moment she saw me.”
Suzanna’s breath caught in her throat. That was the power of love. The heart never forgot one of its own, and she hoped one day she’d find that kind of love.
“Anyway, that’s my story. Now you know everything there is to know about Gage Newsome.”
“And I’m glad to know him. He seems like an amazing guy.”
“You know I’ll do my best to find out who killed your husband, don’t you?”
She nodded and reached for his hand. “I know. I trust you, Gage, and that’s not something I say to many people.”
“Thank you.”
“We need to head back to the house. I’ve got some calls to make, reports to dig into. Then I’m meeting Rafe and Chance. We’ll figure this out, I promise.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Gage stared atthe two men standing in front of his table. He’d stopped by Daisy’s Diner, wanting a cup of coffee and a few minutes to gather his thoughts before heading down to talk with Rafe and Chance. They were planning on going over the information on Suzanna’s case again. Maybe fresh eyes would see something he hadn’t, because he knew there was something, one little thing, that would turn the tide, but his tired brain wasn’t finding it.
“Can I help you?”
Both men were dressed identically in dark clothing, black trousers and button-front shirts. Casual enough to not draw attention if they were anywhere except in the heart of Shiloh Springs. Here they stood out like warts on a witch’s nose. His radar had pinged the second he’d spotted them walking through the door at Daisy’s place. Could have been tourists, because Shiloh Springs had been growing and along with that growth came more people traveling through. But, somehow he doubted these two gentlemen were here for the chicken fried steak special.
“Mr. Sandoval would like to speak to you.”
Gage barely reined in his desire to jump up and bash the two men’s heads together. If they worked for Gustavo Sandoval, his first instinct was right and they were dangerous. While he didn’t see weapons on their persons, he didn’t doubt they were highly trained enough to do a lot of damage without having to use a gun.
“I’m afraid Mr. Sandoval is going to be disappointed. I’m on my way to a meeting with the sheriff. Perhaps he’d like to make an appointment, so I can free up my schedule.” Gage knew he sounded sarcastic and didn’t give a rat’s shiny backside. Gustavo Sandoval and he had a couple of run-ins in the past, and goodness knew he wasn’t Gage’s favorite person. He neither trusted nor wanted to lay eyes on the man again.
“I’m afraid we must insist.” The taller of the two seemed like the one doing all the talking, so Gage spoke directly to him.
“You can tell Mr. Sandoval he can go straight to—”
“He said to tell you it concerns Suzanna Dawkins.”
Gage sprang from his chair so fast it toppled to the floor with a resounding crash, drawing every eye in the room to their table. “What?”
The tall dude repeated, “He said it concerns Suzanna Dawkins.”
“Where is he?”
“We’ve been instructed to take you to him. I assure you, Mr. Newsome, Mr. Sandoval intends no harm to come to you. He merely wishes to talk.”
“Fine.” Gage motioned to Daisy, beckoning her over. He’d gotten to know her on his infrequent visits to Shiloh Springs, and knew he could trust her. “Daisy, I need you to get a message to Rafe. Let him know that I’ve gone to meet with Gustavo Sandoval. If he hasn’t heard from me in six hours, well, he’ll know what to do.”
She looked between Gage and the two men in black, her hands on her hips like she wanted to protest, but fortunately, she simply nodded.
“I’ll tell him. I’ll let Derrick know, too, just in case.” She smiled at the two men now flanking him. “That would be Derrick Williamson, my husband. He’s in charge of the Austin bureau of the F.B.I.” When the men remained silent, she shrugged andpulled off her apron. “I’ll make sure Rafe gets the message right now.”
“Gimme five minutes, then let him know.” He pulled a twenty out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Thanks for the coffee.”
“Any time. You be careful. Ms. Patti will have my hide if anything happens to you.”
“Don’t worry, sweetheart, these men aren’t going to touch a hair on my head.”
The taller one made a sound like he was choking back his laugh, but Gage wasn’t looking directly at him, so he couldn’t be sure.
