Raising the Stakes

“Let my friend here take the boy and I’ll tell you. It’s impossible to talk with the kid making all that noise.”

Harman’s eyes narrowed. Then he jerked his head at Keir. “Get the brat out of here.”

“Keir,” Gray said softly, without looking at him, and Keir nodded, scooped the sobbing child into his arms and started toward the house. “No,” Gray said sharply. “Take the truck. Get him out of here.” Seconds later, the SUV roared away. One down, Gray thought, and one to go.

“Now,” Harman said, “you tell me about the money.”

>

“It’s in a safe-deposit box.”

A shifty smile curled across Harman’s mouth. “An’ you got the key, I bet.”

“Yes.” The lies came easily, just as long as he didn’t look too hard at Dawn, didn’t let himself see the expression he knew would be on her face. “I do.”

“But you’d give it to me.”

“Yes.”

“Why would you do that? The way I figure it, you been screwin’ my wife so’s you could get some of that money for yourself.”

“You’re a smart man, Kitteridge. You figured it out before anybody else. But the thing is, you do something to her and there’s no way anybody can touch the money. She needs to put her signature on a piece of paper.”

“An’ you were gonna be the man who’d share that happy moment with her.” Harman grinned, tightened his grasp on Dawn and yanked her closer. “Ain’t that the way you planned it, city man?”

“Like I said, you’re smart.”

Gray could see Harman processing what he’d told him. Greed was a powerful motivator. In his line of work, he’d seen it make men who thought they were smart overlook the most damning details. He could only hope Harman would make that same mistake.

“Why should I believe you?”

“Because you don’t have much choice.”

Seconds dragged by. Finally Harman nodded. “First, you call off the cops.”

“Coyle?” Gray spoke to Dan but kept his eyes on Harman. “Get your men out of here.”

“I don’t take orders from you, Baron.”

“He’s raised the stakes too high, Coyle. Don’t be a fool. Do as I tell you.”

More time slipped by. Then Dan motioned his men into the SUV. They drove away and silence descended on the desert, broken only by the distant cry of a hawk. A sudden gust of wind blew its heated breath across the sand; it lifted a tendril of Dawn’s hair from her temple.

Time seemed to stop. Then Harman slid his arm across Dawn’s chest and yanked her back against him.

“Now you give me the key to that safe-deposit box.”

“Sure,” Gray said, with an easy smile. “But you have to give me something first. Put away that knife and let her go.”

“You got balls, Baron, I’ll give you that.”

“Do it, or the deal’s off.”

“You just finished tellin’ me I need her to sign some papers. Now you want me to let her go. I ain’t the dumb country boy you seem to think. How’s she gonna sign papers if I let her go?”

Gray took a slow step forward. “Stop and think, Kitteridge. Take a look at the lady. She’s terrified. How are we going to travel to Austin with a woman who looks like she’s scared to death of us?”

Harman frowned. “Austin, Texas?”