“Well, I didn’t disturb her, so you can relax. Tell you what,” he said, pulling out a ten-dollar bill. “If you see her again,” Jason scribbled on a piece of paper and handed it with the ten to the clerk, “will you call me on my cell phone?”
“Sure. You don’t have to give me any more money.”
“Keep it. Thanks for your help.”
“Yes, sir, Mr. Windover. Anytime.”
Jason walked out and waited to get his car. When the valet brought it and stepped out, holding open the door, Jason noticed a small square of white paper fluttering beneath the windshield wiper. It was not the time of night or day for anyone to be advertising or selling something. And he hadn’t been parked illegally. He pulled out the note and looked at the neat printing. “Your pickup is in front of the jail. Thanks for the loan of it.”
He wanted to kick a tire, but he had the disgusting feeling she was somewhere watching him and laughing and he didn’t want to give her the satisfaction. He swore quietly and steadily, every word in his native tongue and a few in other languages that he knew.
“Sir, is something wrong?” the valet asked.
“Sorry, no.” He tipped the man and climbed into his car, then looked up at the Royalton. Every window was either dark or if a light burned, the drapes were pulled. He couldn’t spot anyone looking out a window, but he couldn’t see them all from inside the car. He hit the steering wheel with the palm of his hand. “Dammit!” Where was the wildcat? And what would she do next?
Four
Filled with reluctance, later that morning Jason strode into the quiet, elegant meeting room at the Texas Cattleman’s Club. Coffee was served in the tall silver samovar on a sterling silver tray. Thin-bone china cups edged in gold with the club crest were beside the silver service.
Within a few minutes all eyes were on him as Sebastian stated, “Dorian’s tire was slashed. We assume you apprehended Meredith Silver after that. Now, have you sent her back to wherever she came from or is she still out at your ranch?”
While the question hung in the air, Jason could feel his face flush. He rubbed his fingers along the soft denim covering his bent knee. “She’s not at my ranch.”
“So?” Rob coaxed. “Where is she?”
Jason faced ten pairs of curious eyes. “I don’t know where the hell she is,” he grumbled, and Rob let out a whoop.
“Could it be a woman has gotten the best of our resident playboy?”
“Dammit—” Jason started, but then they were all laughing.
“Our CIA agent has been given the slip by a slip of a girl—” Sebastian said, grinning.
“By a little wildcat,” Jason remarked, knowing he would have to endure their teasing. “I sort of underestimated her. I’ll find her—”
“How long ago did you ‘lose’ her?” Rob asked, grinning broadly.
“I’ll find her soon enough.”
“Find her before she does some other damn mischief. I had to buy a new tire,” Dorian snapped, looking less than amused, but the others were still laughing.
“You may have to go back to the CIA for a little more training on how to secure and hold your prisoner,” Rob needled, still chuckling.
“When did you last see her?” Sebastian asked with a twinkle in his eyes.
“Last night she was at my ranch—”
“She got away from you at your ranch?” Rob asked incredulously. “How’d she do that? I thought you had an alarm system.”
“I do—”
More laughter drowned out his statement, and Jason grinned. “I’ll find the wildcat today,” he assured them.
Rob’s smile faded. Looking relaxed, he sat back in his leather chair, but Jason noticed that Rob was intently studying each man. “On a serious note, there’s something we have to discuss. We’re trying to discover what we can about Eric’s murder. Sebastian has been cleared of the charges against him, but there is still a murderer loose in Royal. And for reasons I don’t want to go into right now, it looks as if there may be a mole in our organization.” The words wiped all amusement off every face and felt like an icy wind sweeping through the room. A chill ran down Jason’s spine as he instantly thought of Dorian, but kept his attention on Rob who continued to gaze solemnly at each of them in turn.
“How can we discover who it is?” Keith Owens asked, his brown-eyed gaze circling the room.
“I suppose all suspicion lands immediately on me,” Dorian announced. “The rest of you have known each other for a lifetime and now this crazy woman is accusing me of things I haven’t done.”
