remember, his choices were his own.”
She nodded again. “I know. I just can’t help but feel that he was just caught up in something that went terribly wrong. Something that took him deeper than he meant to go. And I suppose it makes me feel better to think that he never wanted this to come down on me.”
“Babe, if he was any kind of man at all, he would have protected you. Maybe he just didn’t have time.”
They lay quietly for a few more minutes until she thought about the day. “Will you be with me today?”
“I’m going to Albuquerque with Drew. He’ll fly us so it won’t take all day. I’ve got just a couple of trails I want to check out. Tate will be with you at the clinic.”
“I’ve got some home visits.”
“He’ll be right with you until I get back. I should be finished in the early afternoon at the latest.”
She nodded, knowing he was doing everything he could to alleviate the threat against her.
He gently pushed her backward so their gazes met again. “Are you going to be able to sleep?”
“Yeah,” she whispered. “Now that you’re here and I’m in your arms, I won’t have any problem sleeping.”
He smiled, rewarding her with another kiss before tucking her in tighter. She was right… in his arms, she quickly fell asleep.
24
Cobb had to admit the view was one of the best in Albuquerque. With LSI disabling the security, he and Drew easily broke into Bert’s high-rise condo building, one of the few in the city. Slipping inside unnoticed, he was immediately struck by the hardwood floors throughout the open space which included a living and dining great room just off the open kitchen. The most eye-catching part of the condo was the wall of windows along the entire back of the room that overlooked the city but more spectacularly overlooked the majestic mountains rising in the background. The housing market in Albuquerque was not particularly robust, but Bert had paid a premium for this condo.
He knew Bert had received an insurance policy from his parents, so Cobb wasn’t overly suspicious of the housing expenditure. But still, the condo was one of the best in the city. It sported two bedrooms, and he went first to the one used as a home office and guest room. With gloved hands, he fired up Bert’s laptop, quickly using a secure external drive to download the contents while simultaneously wiping away any trace of having done so. A quick look didn’t show anything overly suspicious, which Josh had already determined, but Cobb still could not get over his distrust.
He searched the small filing cabinet and the desk while waiting but found nothing. Just as he disconnected the drive, he looked up to see that Drew was leaning against the doorframe, a prescription pill bottle between his fingers. Lifting a brow, he waited to see what Drew had to say.
“Looks like our boy is a recreational user. He’s got the shit hidden in prescription pill bottles.”
“What does he use?”
Still leaning against the doorframe, Drew said, “It’s a small amount of coke. Not enough to sell, and not enough to look like a hard user.”
“Fuckin’ moron,” Cobb said, shaking his head. “He’s got everything he could want in a state that is mostly poor, and he’s snorting his money up his nose.”
Drew grinned. “His closet is full of tailored suits. His liquor cabinet has the good stuff. You never did get a good feeling about him.”
“No, but I’m not finding anything here that shows he’s running money. Mostly, it just shows what I said earlier… he’s running through his money on expensive real estate and habits.”
The two walked back through the great room, and Cobb looked at the framed photographs on a shelf over the credenza. One with the Rectors, he and Josie standing with her parents at his college graduation. One of a much younger Bert with a couple that he knew must be his parents because the man resembled John.
Drew picked up a photograph and chuckled. “Looks like he has plenty of friends, and seeing his condo and his sort of recreation, they probably sponge off him.”
Cobb looked at the photograph in Drew’s hand, recognizing Timothy and Roberto amongst the group hanging in a bar. Leaning closer, he recognized the location. “I was just here last night. This is near the back area of the Grand King Casino where the tables are for those playing with higher stakes.”
Drew handed the photograph to