The Outsider's Redemption

He grimaced. “No way. If you want me to hold your bags, you need to buy some that won’t get me laughed at.”

“A real cowboy wouldn’t let that bother him.” She set it down at his feet and walked away.

He watched her depart, her hips swaying seductively. Seductively? What in the world was he thinking? You couldn’t think words like seductive in reference to a pregnant woman. It was…

He didn’t know what it was, but he didn’t plan to let it happen again. He touched a finger to the pager at his waist, checking to make sure it was on. All he wanted to do was get this woman and her disk to Daniel Austin.

The disk. Surely it wasn’t in the tote bag she’d carelessly deposited at his feet. He yanked it up and started digging through it. A couple of James Bond videos, some books, a portable radio with headphones, an opened package of trail mix, a bottle of vitamins.

Nothing that even resembled a floppy disk or a CD. He looked up to find a couple of cowboys snickering at his bag. “Don’t worry,” he quipped. “You’re not my type.” Before he had time to give it another thought, the pager at his waist vibrated.

He checked the number and then turned to try and locate a pay phone. There was one about thirty yards down the corridor, but he’d have to wait for Sarah before he made the call. Shifting from one foot to the other, he wondered what in the hell was taking her so long.

SOMETHING WAS WRONG. Sarah had known it the second the young cowboy had stepped up and called her by name. Daniel Austin had promised her a bodyguard, and he wouldn’t have sent a boy to do a man’s job.

Not that the cowboy outside was younger than she was, but he wasn’t a heck of a lot older either, and he wasn’t big and brawny. He was lean and lank and much too cute and sexy to have ever been in a fight.

She’d become even more suspicious when he’d started questioning her about the location of the disk. Daniel had warned her that she might run into trouble, that she was not to give the disk to anyone but him. And, if anything alarmed her, she was to sit tight and wait for him to contact her.

That’s why she’d made up the story about having a lot of extra baggage. It would have worked, too, if the man waiting outside the ladies’ room had agreed to meet her at baggage pickup. Then she could have sneaked away without any problem. Now she’d have to use more desperate methods and pray they worked.

Stopping in front of the mirror, she shrugged her arms into the sleeves of her light coat. It wasn’t cold, but it would be easier than carrying it when she made her getaway. Taking a deep breath, she stepped outside the bathroom and walked up behind the cowboy who claimed to be her contact.

“Help, officer. This man stole my bag.” Her voice pierced the dull clamor of the crowd, echoing off the walls and ceilings.

Cody grabbed her arm, his fingers digging into her flesh. “What the devil are you doing?”

“Give me my tote bag,” she screamed, yanking it from his arm. “Thief.”

He grabbed the strap and held on. A crowd gathered around them, and two guys pinned Cody’s arms behind him while another pried the bag from his hand and presented it to Sarah. She took off running just as a cop pushed through the circle of onlookers. She didn’t wait to see what happened next.

A WALL OF HOT AIR slapped Sarah in the face as she stepped through the double doors and into the hustle of passengers just outside the airport. She had no idea where she should go or what she should do next. Mr. Austin had said she wouldn’t need any money. Still, she’d brought all the cash she had on her when he’d called and said it was time to swing into action.

A measly twenty dollars. A cab ride to downtown San Antonio probably cost more than that. Besides, there was no place for her to go once she got downtown. She’d just have to wait until she heard from him. But wait where?

A uniformed police officer stopped traffic and she crossed the street with a group of Japanese tourists headed for a motor van in the outside lane. She left them at the curb, picking up her pace and striding toward the parking garage. She could duck behind a car and wait to hear from Dan.

The dangerous part would be stealing the files, he’d assured her. After that, she could leave everything to him. Only now she was in San Antonio, alone and broke. And hungry. Tears burned at the back of her eyelids. She blinked them away. No one ever cried in James Bond movies. They always managed to do something brave and daring. She made her way to the back corner of the first floor of the garage and crouched behind a white minivan.

Her cellular phone rang, and she dug the phone from her handbag. “Hello.”

“Do you have the files, Sarah?” She recognized Mr. Austin’s voice at once, only it wasn’t calm the way it usually was. He sounded angry.

“I have them.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m in the parking garage at the airport. Your bodyguard didn’t show. Instead some cowboy tried to convince me to give him the disk.”

“The cowboy you left in the hands of the police is the bodyguard. You can trust him to bring you to me, but don’t give him the diskette.”

“Suppose he takes it away from me?”

“He won’t. I’ve warned him not to upset you any more than he already has. Now, tell me exactly where you are and then stay put until Cody Gannon shows up. He’ll bring you to me.”

Her voice trembled as she gave her location. Cody Gannon was the last man she wanted to see, but she ended the connection, slipped the phone back into her handbag and waited. The minutes dragged on, and with each one she wished she was back in D.C. in her cozy apartment.

Just her and her baby-to-be. Footsteps sounded around her. She didn’t bother turning around. Cody Gannon would not be glad to see her.

“Waiting for someone, lady?”

The voice was coarse and harsh, not Cody Gannon’s. She spun around just as the man’s briefcase collided with the side of her head. Her feet slipped and she stumbled awkwardly as her purse was ripped from her arms. She tried to scream, but the man slapped her hard across the face.

Her ears rang and blood spurted from her nose and dripped onto her lips. She tried to brush it away with the back of her hand, but the man grabbed her and pinned her against him, holding his large, meaty hand over her mouth.

He threw her handbag to the hood and ravaged it with his free hand, tossing the contents to the floor. Her cell phone cracked, the pieces went flying into the air and under the minivan. “If you like living, lady, hand over the disk.”

She’d be glad to, only her fingers wouldn’t move and she was seeing two and sometimes three of everything. So she spit into one of the man’s faces and let the hot, suffocating blackness consume her as she slumped to the concrete floor.

Chapter Two

Cody raced across the busy street and ducked inside the doors of the parking garage. Dan had chewed him out good for letting Sarah outsmart him, but his stinging comments hadn’t been nearly as caustic as the ones Cody had hurled at himself.

He’d had a hell of a time convincing the cop that he and Sarah had just had a lover’s quarrel and that causing the scene was her way of getting back at him. He doubted the cop believed him, but he’d released him anyway, thanks to the testimony of a middle-aged woman who claimed to have witnessed the whole show.

When he found Sarah, he would tell her how the cow ate the cabbage and he wouldn’t mince words doing it. He was delivering her to Austin if he had to handcuff her and tie her to the truck. Pregnant or not, she was a little spitfire, and he’d have no choice but to treat her like one.

He rushed past a man carrying a briefcase in one hand and an overstuffed duffel in the other as he made his way to the back of the parking garage. Someone’s alarm went off. He barely noticed. Dan had said Sarah would be waiting for him near the left back corner, behind a minivan. This was the first time Cody realized how many people drove minivans.

“Sarah.” He said her name, too softly to attract any undue attention, but loudly enough she could hear him if she were within a few yards. There was no answer. He kept walking. He was almost to the back corner now, and there was no one around. Nothing but parked cars and exhaust fumes wafting on the humid air.

And a moan.

Anxiety and a burst of adrenaline answered. He called her name again and tried to follow the direction of the sound. A large man in a dark shirt and jeans dashed from between a car and a white minivan, then disappeared behind a Land Cruiser.

Cody’s first instinct was to take off after the guy, but his job was finding the woman. He sprinted the last few feet, reaching the minivan in record time. And there he found Sarah Rand, on the floor, her back slumped against the fender.

The sight ground like raw hamburger in his stomach. Her hot pink suit was sprayed with blood that dripped from her red nose. Her eyes were open, but glazed and unfocused. The contents of her purse were scattered around her. And a knot was rising on the side of her head.

The anger he’d felt toward her a minute ago was swallowed by a wave of compassion that overrode his determination to treat her as the criminal she was. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a thankfully clean handkerchief and held it to her nose to catch the drops of crimson blood. “What happened?”

“Like you care.”

“If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t have asked. Besides, I’m getting paid to care.”

“Some brute was trying to steal the disk. He sneaked up on me and hit me in the head. When I tried to fight him off he slapped me in the face and almost knocked my lights out.”

Dropping to his knees, he brushed stray locks of hair from her face. “Are you all right?”

“Is my head still attached?”

“It’s still there.” As gingerly as he could, he touched his fingertips to the knot just above her right ear. “In fact it looks as if you’re growing another one.”

“And both of them hurt.” She put her weight on her hands and pushed against the van, helping herself to a standing position. She staggered, and he stepped in to steady her.

“I think you should see a doctor,” he said, holding her unsteady body against his.

“Not for a knot on the head.”

“You could have a concussion.”

“I could have, but I don’t. I’m a little disoriented, but my vision is okay now. And I’m not nauseous.”

“I still think you should see a doctor. We can stop in at an emergency room. Hopefully, we can make up some story that won’t require alerting the police.”

“I told you I’m fine.” She touched her hand to the swell beneath her dress. “Nothing important hurts. But, believe me, if I start having pains in my stomach, I’ll let you know. I won’t take chances with my baby.”

“No use taking chances with a concussion either.”

“If I develop the symptoms of a concussion, I’ll seek medical help. Trust me.”

Trust her? Not in this life, not with the credentials she carried. Still, he planned to deliver her alive and in reasonably good condition. “How do you know so much about the symptoms of concussions? Do you make a habit of getting attacked by strangers?”

“My mother was a nurse, a very good one. She practically ran the hospital where she worked. She taught me all about first aid for trauma.”

Yeah, well, Cody had learned a lot about first aid from his mother, too. Only she hadn’t been a nurse. She’d been a victim—a lot more times than he cared to think about. He waited until Sarah was steady on her feet before he asked the big question. “Did the man who attacked you get the disk?”

She closed her eyes and then opened them slowly, leveling him with a cold stare. “That’s all you people care about. You and Mr. Austin. I’m just a pawn to you.”

“You’re a pawn. I’m a pawn. The brute who hit you over the head is probably a pawn, too. Just not one of ours.”

It was a stupid answer. Sarah Rand wasn’t a pawn to him. She was less than that. She was a traitorous mercenary. So why had he come to her rescue instead of going after the brute?

“He didn’t get the disk,” she said.

Relief settled in Cody’s chest, like a cool breath on a hot day. “Maybe he wasn’t after the disk at all. Maybe he really was a purse snatcher.” He stooped and started picking up the jumble of makeup and papers that had been emptied from her bag.

“No, it was the disk he wanted. He threatened to kill me if I didn’t give it to him.”

“So much for wishing for a simple purse snatching.”

“Simple for you. You’re not the one who took a briefcase to the side of your head.”

Cody scooped up the last of the items and stuffed them into the open handbag. “You wouldn’t have either if you hadn’t pulled that stunt in the airport. We’d have been in my pickup on the way to collect your payoff.”

“A pickup truck?”

“What did you expect? A Rolls?”

“I guess I should be thankful you didn’t ride in on your horse.”

“According to your tote bag, the one you accused me of stealing, that would have suited you just fine.”

“The bag was a gift,” she said. “From someone with a bizarre sense of humor.”

“Imagine you having bizarre friends. But enough friendly chitchat. We need to get on our way. Is it the emergency room or the highway?” Cody asked, scanning the area for any sign of more trouble.

“The highway.” She ran her hands down her skirt, smoothing the wrinkles but avoiding the bloodstains. “I’m almost back to normal now, and I’d like to get this over with as soon as possible.”

“I’m sure you would.” Get it over with and collect one million dollars in cold, hard cash. He picked up her tote bag and grabbed the handle of her luggage. She pulled her coat over her shoulders and walked a few steps before stopping to wait on him.

He watched her to make sure she wasn’t lying about feeling normal. Her nose had quit bleeding, and she was steady on her feet. But she still looked like a little girl playing grown-up in her hot pink maternity clothes.

No matter that he didn’t like her value system, he couldn’t deny that she was attractive, in a girl-next-door sort of way. The look probably served her well, kept anyone from suspecting her of wrongdoing. She was probably the darling of the Washington office where she worked.

But she wouldn’t be able to smile and charm her way out of the trouble she was in now. A trap had been set, and she was following the bait right through the cage door.

Only, apparently Dan wasn’t the only one who knew she had the disk. The guy who’d nearly taken her head off had known it, too. Only how did he know and who was he? Had Calderone outsmarted everyone again? Had he found out what Dan was up to and decided to send one of his own men after the disk?

If so, Dan Austin was in big trouble. They all were.

SARAH STARED out the window. The late afternoon sky was bordered by a band of gold that gilded the rolling hills. Cows, horses, fences, all far different from what she was used to seeing on her morning commute.

She really didn’t mind riding in a pickup truck. In fact, she liked it. She just wasn’t about to admit it to the cocky cowboy behind the wheel.

The same way she hadn’t admitted that she’d bought the tote because she’d always fantasized about falling in love with a cowboy and having him fall right back in love with her. Now she was with a cowboy, and it wasn’t nearly as exciting as she’d imagined. The cowboy in question hadn’t seemed to notice that she was a woman. Still that was probably better than filling her head with lies the way Todd Benson had done.

She settled back in her seat and took a sip of the milk Cody had bought for her when he’d stopped at the convenience store for ice for her injury. Turning her head, she studied the rugged lines of Cody’s profile. He looked intense, as if his mind were a billion miles away from here. And he was much too quiet. It made her nervous.

She squirmed in her seat. “If Dan hasn’t told you where to meet him, how do you know we’re going in the right direction?”

“He said to take Highway 281 north and to stay on it until we hear from him—unless I spot someone following us.”

“You mean like the man who attacked me at the airport.”

He turned her way for a second before returning his gaze to the road. “I hope you’re not doing anything really stupid, like trying to set Dan up.”

“Of course not. What kind of woman do you think I am?”

“How would I know what kind of woman you are? We just met.”

“I’m trying to help. That’s all.”

They settled into a strained silence. Apparently he was still angry that she’d run from him back at the airport, but he could just get over it. They were in this together. They might as well make the most of it. And she hated to ride in silence. Better to ask questions and force him to talk. “Are you married?”

His face twisted into a scowl. “No way.”

“You don’t have to bite my head off. I was just thinking that it must be rough to leave your wife at home when you go off on one of these missions. If you had one.”

“That’s why I don’t. What about you? Why didn’t you marry that Todd guy you were talking about?”

“Todd didn’t want me. Well, actually, he did want me. He didn’t want our child. He thought I should, you know, get rid of it or at least give it up for adoption.”

“But you wanted to keep your baby?”

Wanted. The word was probably accurate, but it seemed so mild compared to the feelings that had come over her from the second the pregnancy test had come back positive. It wasn’t that she was against adoption. She knew there were many wonderful people out there who ached for a baby of their own and couldn’t have one, people who could give the baby a good home.

But the baby growing inside her was wanted by its biological mother. Wanted and needed. And already loved. “There is no way I’m giving up my baby.”

“So Todd just took off and left you stranded?”

“Something like that.”

“He isn’t the first man to walk away and leave an expectant mother to shift for herself. Guess fatherhood puts too much of a damper on some men’s lifestyles.”

Sarah had the strange feeling that Cody was no longer talking about her at all. His tone had taken on an intensity that seemed too personal for conversation between strangers.

But then nothing about their being together was normal.

“Were you in love with Todd?” The question took her by surprise. If he’d asked her three months ago, the answer would have been an unqualified yes. “I thought I was at the time. Now I think I was only in love with being in love. A woman dreams of that all her life. Romance. The perfect man. I mean, songs, poems, movies—they’re all about falling in love.”

“So what changed your mind?”

“I expected to fall apart when he left. I didn’t. The truth was my life got easier with no one around to tell me that I couldn’t do anything on my own. Two years of hearing that constantly and you start to believe it.”

“Wait a minute. Are you saying you dated this guy for two years and then he just walked out of your life because you were pregnant with his baby?”

“Two years and three months to be exact. He counted it up for me when he left, just in case I couldn’t.”

“You must have been a teenager when you started dating him.”

“I’m a lot older than I look, twenty-seven on my next birthday. But Todd was my first serious beau.”

“Looks like waiting around didn’t improve your judgment.”

“I wasn’t exactly waiting around. My life was too busy to think of relationships before that. I worked my way through university, taking night classes until I could earn my degree in business.”

“Didn’t your mother help you pay for your education?”

“My mother?”

“Yeah, you know, your wonderful nurse mother who practically runs the hospital.”

She turned to stare out the window. “She wanted to, but she had quit her job at the hospital by then to do missionary work in Africa.”

“She sounds like quite a woman.”

“She is.”

Cody reached down and checked the beeper at his waist. “Looks like Dan is ready for us. Too bad your cell phone got destroyed in the attack.”

“Don’t you have one?”

“Not anymore.”

“What will you do?”

“Find a pay phone somewhere.”

“Last minute directions. Secret destinations.” She stretched her legs in front of her. “This is awfully intriguing, don’t you think?”

“I never thought of it like that.”

“That’s because you’re a cowboy who’s merely serving as a guide and bodyguard. You don’t have a full understanding or appreciation for the importance of this mission.”

He glanced her way and rolled his eyes. “No, ma’am. I’m just an ignorant cowboy at your service.”

He was making fun of her now. She’d never been able to pull off that sophisticated routine. But, this was exciting, whether Cody Gannon wanted to admit it or not. Living on the edge. Doing something important. She’d waited for this moment all her life. Too bad that Cody was the only one around to see her, and he apparently wasn’t impressed.

And too bad reality reared its ugly head every so often and reminded her what would happen if anything went wrong with this operation. Only nothing would go wrong. Dan Austin was one of the best agents the DPS had ever had.

They drove another ten minutes until they came to a gas station. Cody pulled off and parked near the phone booth. “I’ll only be a minute.” He killed the engine and yanked his keys from the ignition.

“I didn’t plan to leave you,” she said, as he jumped out of the truck, dangling the key ring from his fingers.

“I’m not taking any chances. Not with my truck.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. A not-at-all sophisticated thing to do, but he was way too cocky.

She watched as he deposited his money and punched in the number. His mouth moved, so he was talking to someone, but his scowl indicated he was not happy with the call. After a minute or two, he slammed the receiver into its cradle and climbed back behind the steering wheel.

“Did Dan tell you where we’re supposed to meet him?”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t sound as if you like it.”

“Driving into Mexico with a pregnant woman is not my idea of fun, especially when we’ve spent the last two hours driving in the opposite direction.”

Without warning, her stomach turned inside out. “I didn’t bargain for going into Mexico.”

“You can always back out,” he said.

And if she didn’t know better, she’d think that was what he wanted her to do. But that wouldn’t make sense. He worked for Mr. Austin. “I won’t back out. I always keep my word. But I might pass out if we don’t stop for dinner soon.”

“Then dinner it is. Better to give the devil his due on a full stomach.”

“You know, Cody Gannon, half the time I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”

“Then we should make a good pair, because I don’t have a clue what I’m doing here.”

He swerved out of the parking lot and onto the road. “The rest of the ride may be a little bumpy.”

“Why?”

“Look behind you.”

She did. “I see a highway, passing fence posts, and there’s some horses in that field we just passed.”

“There’s a blue car back there somewhere, too. He’s been with us for the past fifteen miles or so. When I slow down, he slows down.”

“So that’s why we’ve been racing along half the time and crawling the other half? Do you think it’s the man who attacked me at the airport?”

“Whoever it is, I plan to lose him. So make sure your seat belt’s buckled.”

She checked the buckle, excitement dancing along her nerve endings. A cute cowboy, a secret mission, and someone following them. If this were a movie, the action music would start up right now.

THE RESTAURANT where they stopped was little more than a clapboard shell with a roof, but the parking lot was crowded. New and old cars and several pickup trucks jammed into the narrow space in front of the building, and that was always a good sign. Eat where the locals chow down and you can’t go wrong.

Cody opened the door for Sarah and helped her out of the truck. She planted her feet on the cracked asphalt and then reached back for her coat.

“I don’t think you’ll need that.”

“Not for warmth, but if you think I’m going in there sporting bloodstains, you’ve got another think coming.”

“Well, excuuuse me. If I’d known I was dining with a fashion plate, I’d have wiped the dust off my boots. But I can tell you without walking in the door that no one in this place is going to get all bent out of shape over a couple of stains.”

“Nonetheless, I’ll wear my wrap. My mother always says that if you want to be treated like a lady, you should look and act like one.”

“Then I’m glad your mother wasn’t there to watch your performance in the airport.” But still he held her coat while she slid her arms into the sleeves.

Her hair brushed his fingers. The softness of the strands contrasted with the rough texture of the coat, and he jerked his hands away. She might look and act and even feel like a lady, but she wasn’t one. She was just another criminal playing innocent, and he was way too smart to fall for her act.

He opened the door to the restaurant and was greeted by an assault of odors and a sudden attack of homesickness. The peppers, the onions, the smell of freshly baked tortillas. It was like walking into Rosa’s kitchen back at the Smoking Barrel. Only it wasn’t his buddies sitting around the table but a room full of strangers.

A waitress with a tray laden with sizzling fajitas sashayed by them. “Welcome to Carmelita’s,” she said, flashing them a smile. “Sit where you like. I think there’s still some empty tables in the back.”

Sarah made her way through the maze of tables and mismatched chairs without waiting for him. He followed along behind, glancing about the room as he did. The place looked safe enough, mostly families and a few young guys still sporting ranch dust on their faded jeans. A pudgy woman in a flowered dress caught him staring her way and smiled. He smiled back.

All well and good. Not that he expected trouble in here. He’d watched his tail ever since they’d left the gas station, cut through a field and down a deserted road before pulling out on this highway. But the attack back at the airport had him spooked. And the first thing he’d learned from Mitchell Forbes had been to never let his guard down.

He’d made a mistake back at the airport, but he didn’t plan to make any more.

Sarah had already pulled out her own chair and taken a seat by the time he caught up with her. “Didn’t your mother tell you that a lady waits for a man to hold her chair?”

“I’m perfectly capable of doing that for myself.”

“Still, it makes me look bad.”

“I didn’t know you were into playing the gentleman.”

“A real cowboy doesn’t play at being a gentleman. It comes naturally.”

“Do tell. Then I may have to reconsider my opinion of the saying on my tote bag. I’m not used to dining with a gentleman.”

“I take it Todd wasn’t one.”

“He probably was in the beginning. You know how it is after you date the same person for a long time.”

“No, can’t say that I do. Not unless four or five dates qualifies as a long time.”

“Four or five dates? You could do that in a week.”

“Maybe you could. Ranching hours don’t lend themselves to that kind of courting, especially when the ranch is five miles past the end of the world.”

“So why aren’t you out on the edge of nowhere punching cattle tonight, Cody Gannon, instead of taxiing me around?”

The answer was simple enough, but he kept it to himself. He wasn’t punching cattle because he no longer had a job. He didn’t belong on the Smoking Barrel anymore. He didn’t belong anywhere, and even if he had, he wouldn’t be at liberty to discuss it with Sarah.

If she had any idea that he was one of the good guys, that this was a trap, she’d run like a hellion at the first opportunity, maybe even destroy the disk completely. Or worse yet, actually get it to Calderone.

The waitress set a basket of greasy chips and a white crockery bowl of salsa in the center of the table. “Watch that stuff,” she said, tapping a painted fingernail on the edge of the bowl. “It’s hotter than a honeymoon hotel.” She laughed at her own joke and then pulled a pencil and order pad from her apron pocket. “What can I get you folks? Everything on the menu’s good and the bartender makes a great margarita.”

“I’ll take a beer,” Cody said. “Whatever you have on tap, as long as it’s cold. Maybe the lady would like a margarita.”

“Indeed not.” Sarah stared at him as if he’d committed a cardinal sin. “Alcohol is strictly off-limits for pregnant women. Haven’t you read the warnings? They’re posted on the bathroom door of every ladies’ room in the country.”

“Sorry. I don’t spend a lot of time hanging out in ladies’ rooms. But I wasn’t trying to force a drink on you. It was just a suggestion. Drink and eat whatever you like.”

“Are you paying?”

“Sure. Why not?” She was awful tight for a woman who was about to collect more money than he’d probably accumulate in a lifetime. At least she thought she was about to get paid.

Of course, she might be busted, and if she really was hard up for cash, that might explain why she’d sold out to the enemy. An unmarried woman about to have a baby could probably feel pretty desperate if she didn’t have the money for medical expenses and diapers and such.

He listened while Sarah placed her order and then gave the waitress his, surprised to find that he was actually hungry. Rosa had accused him more than once of eating anything that didn’t