Run, Hide - By Carol Ericson Page 0,67
Jenna curled her arms around his neck and kissed him. “Be careful out there.”
When Cade left, Jenna sank into the couch and aimed the remote at the TV. She surfed through several channels. “If we’re going to stay here, we need cable in the worst way.”
Beth came out of the kitchen carrying two glasses of red wine. “This will make anything on TV a little better.”
Jenna took a glass from her and clinked its rim with Beth’s. “So true.”
Halfway through the show they were watching, Jenna put Gavin to bed. She almost curled up next to him. Everything that had happened to her since the moment she scrambled beneath the floorboards in Lovett Peak hit her at once.
She dropped onto the couch and drained her wineglass.
“Do you want another?” Beth half rose from her seat.
“No.” The word felt thick on Jenna’s tongue. She curled her legs beneath her, and her head drooped to the side.
“Good. Because now I’m going to take your son.”
Chapter Sixteen
“It makes no sense.” Cade drained his bottle of beer and started picking at the label on the wet glass.
“I don’t know why you’ve been so paranoid about Prospero. Jack Coburn runs a tight ship. Everything over the past few days has been according to protocol. As far as I know, internal affairs dealt with Horace Jimerson.” J.D. checked his watch. “And we won’t be privy to his punishment for a while.”
Cade picked the sticky label from his fingernails. “What about the situation at the warehouse?”
“That, I can’t tell you. Why is Beth so sure Zendaris didn’t ambush her and Curson? She didn’t even see her attackers.”
“It’s not just Beth. If Zendaris’s guys hit that warehouse and killed Curson, why didn’t they wait for me and Jenna? They had to know we were going to show up. They’ve been chasing us all across the Southwest. Why give up an opportunity to snatch Gavin and hold him until I cough up the plans?”
“That whole setup seems screwy to me.” J.D. kicked a boot up onto the chair across from him and crossed his arms behind his head. “You didn’t see any attackers. Why didn’t they kill Beth, too? Curson dies and Beth gets a bump on the head?”
“You’re not suggesting Beth is working with Zendaris, like Jim, are you?”
“No, but maybe she screwed something up.” J.D. tipped his chair back. “That woman has a lot of issues.”
“She does?”
“She had a major crush on you for one thing.”
“No way.” Cade tracked back through his memories of Beth in the office, at the get-togethers and most recently on the drive to Texas. “No way.”
J.D. snorted. “Man, you’re so hung up on Jenna you wouldn’t notice if another woman stood in front of you doing the shimmy shake.”
Heat blasted Cade’s face. “Yeah, I think I would.”
“Really? ’Cuz those two lovely ladies in the corner have been eyeing us for a good half hour, and I swear you couldn’t tell me right now if they’re blondes, redheads or brunettes.”
Cade slid a gaze to two women giggling over a couple of margaritas.
“Without looking.” J.D. shook his head.
“So the fact that Beth had a crush on me means she has issues?”
“It’s not just that. She’s really self-conscious about those disfiguring scars on her back. It’s done a number on her self-esteem.”
“What are you talking about?” Cade’s brows snapped together. “Beth doesn’t have any disfiguring scars on her back.”
“You’ve seen her back lately?”
“She stayed in our hotel room with us the other night.”
J.D. lifted one eyebrow. “Was she running around naked or something?”
“Why do you keep bringing up naked women?” Cade kicked J.D.’s chair. “She slipped off her sweater when she got into bed. I didn’t notice any scars.”
J.D.’s chair snapped to the floor. “That’s weird because I’ve seen them and it’s not something she can hide. They’re scars from burns.”
“How did it happen?”
“I’m not sure. Some accident involving her sister when they were children.” He leveled his finger at Cade. “Another thing that’s weird is how you ended up in Texas for your resettlement.”
“Why is that weird?”
“Was Beth so tongue-tied around you she never talked about herself? She’s from Texas. I think her mother still lives here, and if I’m not mistaken, it’s somewhere near San Antonio.”
“Coincidence.”
“Maybe, but not too smart if she wants you to keep your distance from everyone connected to Prospero. Maybe she just wants you within striking range if she ever decides to go for you.”
Cade chewed the inside of his cheek. Why hadn’t Beth mentioned that fact?
J.D. checked his