“I think Tate has a thing for a woman who is staying here at the resort. I went to see if Lara was in the gym this morning and she wasn’t there. I think she might have ended up being stranded with Tate,” Chloe told Blake excitedly. She sat back in her chair, with Blake seated on her right and Gabe to her left. She ignored Gabe completely.
Blake’s eyes widened. “Oh? And who is this mystery woman, and why would she be stranded with my little brother?”
Chloe relayed what she knew about Lara, and how she hadn’t come back from snowmobiling yesterday before the storm. And then she proceeded to explain that Tate had gone out to look for Lara. “He texted me that he found her and told me she was safe, but she never came back to the resort last night. She has to be with him. I like her. She kicked James’s rear at judo.”
“Mr. Black Belt?” Gabe interjected sarcastically.
Without looking at Gabe, Chloe answered him defensively, “James is really good, but Lara is fantastic. She offered to teach me some of her self-defense moves.”
“So you think this Lara is still at Tate’s place?” Blake asked.
“She has to be. Maybe it was closer. The blizzard was pretty bad yesterday,” Chloe told her brother thoughtfully.
“And Tate has a Jeep with a plow that could have easily brought her back to the resort,” Blake reminded Chloe with a massive grin on his face.
Aileen put a heaping plate of eggs, bacon, and toast in front of Blake and Gabe. “Eat. And don’t tease your brother about liking a woman. He’s had a difficult year. It would be nice if at least one of my boys were thinking about marriage and grandchildren.”
Tate had transitioned out of the military Special Forces, a fact that had delighted Aileen to no end. She’d gotten tired of worrying about her youngest son putting himself in harm’s way every single day. But she knew he missed it, and that he was restless. A good woman might go a long way to helping her youngest boy become more content.
Tate had healed from his injury that had caused him to leave the military, an injury that he insisted had happened when he was skiing while he was off duty. Humph! Did her youngest son really think she bought that excuse? She knew he was trying to save her some worry, but she hadn’t bought that lame story for a minute. A mother just…knows.
“Mom, I’m a United States Senator. Do you really think I’d be immature enough to give Tate a hard time over a woman?” Blake protested before he dug into his plate of food.
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
Chloe and Gabe both answered emphatically at the same time.
Aileen sat down with her coffee, happy as she watched Gabe and Chloe look at each other in surprise and exchange a small smile for the very first time.
Lara hated putting on dirty clothing, but she figured she could change when she got back to the resort. Her clothing in place, she adjusted her concealed Glock 23 at her back and lowered her sweater over the top.
“What are you doing?” Tate wandered into the bedroom.
“I’m getting ready to go back to the resort,” she told him in a clipped tone, still pissed off at him because he hadn’t stopped laughing since she revealed that she was investigating Marcus. She guessed he’d recovered, because he wasn’t laughing now. She’d finally stomped out of the kitchen when he’d been laughing nonstop for five freaking minutes.
“So you can investigate an innocent man?” Tate’s voice still held a hint of humor.
She turned around and crossed her arms in front of her. “I’m tired, I’m hungry, and I’m armed. Don’t screw with me, Colter.”
“Damn, you’re hot when you’re pissed off.” He shot her an amorous look.
“Don’t even think about it.” She held out her arm as he advanced, walked around him and stomped back into the kitchen. She felt his presence behind her. “I have a job to do, and I don’t appreciate you making fun of what I do.”
“Hey.” He caught her arm in the kitchen and swung her around. “I’m not making fun of what you do. You have an important and dangerous job, and you’re obviously good at it. But you’re hunting the wrong guy.”
“The wrong guy who has been bringing in enough explosives to blow up an entire state? The wrong guy who has been dealing with known terrorists? The wrong guy who is storing weapons of mass destruction somewhere on this acreage in Rocky Springs? You mean that wrong guy?” she asked furiously.
Tate gaped at her. “That’s not possible. Marcus is a straight arrow, Lara, and as ethical as they come. I’d tell you if I thought differently, but he doesn’t have it in him to do that, and you already know what happened to my dad. Marcus loved him, and he suffered the most when Dad died because he was the eldest and the closest to our father. Christ! The last thing Marcus would do would be seen anywhere near a damn terrorist, much less be part of a plot to blow up innocent people.”
Lara’s heart sank. How could she convince a man who loved his brother that his sibling was really a terrorist disguised as a businessman? “We have proof, Tate. I wouldn’t be here if we didn’t. The FBI isn’t going to waste money on an investigation without just cause. I’m sorry.”
“Show me your proof. I’ll help you. Where is this supposed stash?” Tate asked impatiently.
“That we don’t know. That’s why I’m here,” Lara admitted. “All we know is that Marcus has been buying enough explosives to blow up a very large area and transporting it here. He’s been seen with known terrorists. The members of this group are pretty powerful, wealthy, and well disguised as businessmen. Most of them live here in the US right now, Middle Eastern emigrants.”
“Marcus would want to kill every one of them if he knew they were members of a terrorist group.” Tate paced the kitchen. “He doesn’t have the storage for that kind of equipment at his house.”
“He built an airstrip in the summer—”
“So we could all land our jets here instead of in Denver. We all wanted it.”
“He also built a new hangar.”
“His other one is smaller and it was getting old. He has a brand new jet. But I’ll take you to the airstrip to check it out if it will satisfy you that he’s innocent. In the meantime, I’d like to hear about all of your supposed evidence against Marcus,” Tate demanded. He turned his intense gaze on her.
Lara looked into his eyes, trying to read his intentions. He could be a huge help or a hindrance.