Pray for Mercy (Detectives Kane and Alton)

“Nope.” Jenna chanced a glance at him and then looked back at the road. “Did you see her yesterday afternoon on the mountain?”

“I don’t recall.” Cade shrugged. “Why?”

Jenna stiffened, deciding what to tell him, but his reaction to Mrs. Darvish’s death might be worth noting. “She’s at the bottom of the ravine.”

“Well, I guess shit happens.” Cade shrugged. “There’s a few people I’d like to see join her right now.”

Ignoring his last remark, Jenna concentrated on getting off the mountain, she had other things to think about. Her stomach churned at the thought of seeing the most important man in her life lowered from a chopper into the deep boiling rapids, freezing cold from the melt and buffeted by strong winds. The ravine changed dramatically during the year. The river flowing from the mountain was usually calm, but the melt was sending gallons of water per second down the mountain, and the extended winter and freezing conditions had made parts of the mountain unstable. In the chopper, Carter would be battling high winds and falling rocks. On the ground, Kane would risk a freezing torrent sweeping him away to certain death. She had no idea how they could possibly retrieve the body of Mrs. Darvish without something bad happening.

As they hit Stanton, Jenna sucked in a deep breath and wiggled her numb fingers. She’d been white-knuckling the steering wheel all the way down the mountain. As they drove through the forest, she heard Cade mutter under his breath. She glanced at him. “Did you say something?”

“Nope, just thinking out loud is all.” He gave her a long look. “I’m guessing Dave will be taking back my truck?”

Jenna shrugged. “I’ve no idea. He worked on the engine of that truck because he thought you were a responsible driver, but speeding down a mountain road has probably changed his mind—and that truck was for both of you. Seems to me it might be Piper’s turn to drive it.”

“Hah.” Cade grinned at her. “Do you figure Piper will stop me from driving it? You don’t know her too well, do you?” He crossed his fingers. “We’re twins. Two sides of the same coin, Jenna. We even think alike.”

Jenna pulled up behind the Beast and waited for Kane to take Duke from the back seat. She touched Cade’s arm. “Maybe wait up and see what Dave says. I figure he’ll want a word with you.”

“A lecture, you mean?” Cade pushed his hands inside his pockets and hunched his shoulders. “Seems to me now I have three fathers. Zac thinks he can tell me what to do, and now he’s enlisted Shane and Dave as his backup crew. My dad is dead. If they figure they can take his place, they’re wrong.”

“If they didn’t care about you, they wouldn’t bother.” Jenna waited for Kane to walk over and then stepped away, but she could hear them just fine.

“You can’t stop me seeing Kara.” Cade stuck out his chin. “You’re not my dad.”

“I’m not preventing you from seeing anyone.” Kane moved in closer eyeballing him. “I have experience with women and you’ll learn in good time, but I need to ask you one simple question: Did you mention your inheritance to her or Amber at any time?”

“Sure. I mentioned it to Amber.” Cade shrugged. “She’s one of Piper’s friends and we mentioned it a time ago. What’s this got to do with Kara?”

“Kara has a hankering for tough hardened cowboys—men who can show her a good time and give her money.” Kane raised an eyebrow. “Why would she hook up with a seventeen-year-old inexperienced kid? Maybe you should think on that for a time. Zac tells me you’re real smart, so you’ll work it out. I sure hope you do. I’m holding on to the keys to your truck until you grow a pair and stop acting like a spoiled brat.” He turned and looked at Jenna. “We have to go. Are you ready?”

“Yeah.” Jenna walked to his side. “Think that will work?”

“Hope so.” Kane shook his head slowly. “Blind Freddy could see she’s only interested in his money. Poor kid. At that age they’re easily manipulated by an older woman. Kara would be an expert too, so he wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“You sound like you’re talking from experience.” Jenna climbed into the Beast. “Come on, don’t leave me hanging.”

“Nah, not this time.” Kane flashed her a broad grin. “Some things must stay in the vault.”

SEVENTEEN

As they drove into town, Jenna’s phone chimed. It was Wolfe, and she put the call on speaker. “We’re on our way, Shane.”

“Drop by your office. Search and Rescue have left a set of gear there for Dave. If he changes now, it will save time.” He paused a beat. “Carter did a flyby on the way here. He’s only prepared to take two men, so it looks like me and Dave.”

“What exactly did he say?” Kane pulled up outside the sheriff’s department and looked at Jenna.

“It’s a wind tunnel and he’ll be dropping us from higher than usual. From the weather report, we have a window of about one hour to get in and out.” Wolfe cleared his throat. “There’s a search and rescue guy here more than willing to go, so you don’t have to risk your life out there. It’s not your job to retrieve bodies.”

Jenna caught the nerve twitching in Kane’s cheek and she met his blank gaze. “What are you going to do?”

“Is the guy marr

ied with a family?” Kane stared into space for a beat and then rubbed the back of his neck.

“Nope.” Wolfe sounded annoyed. “Oh no, don’t pull the kid card on me again, Dave. I’m the ME. I have to go.”

“No, you don’t.” Kane blew out a long breath. “It’s gonna be me, Carter, and the single guy. You can wait at the top of the ravine for me to retrieve the body if you must. You have the girls to worry about, and if Carter has concerns, it’s going to be a rough ride. I’m going and that’s final.” He turned away and climbed out of the truck, unclipped Duke, and walked inside.