He glanced at it and held up one finger. “Excuse me. I gotta take this. It’s work.”
He tapped the phone. “Valdez.”
He listened for a second, a crease forming between his eyebrows. “Yeah, yeah. You think it’s El Gringo Viejo?”
Jane’s heart slammed against her chest. El Gringo Viejo? Where had she heard that before? As she gripped the edge of the table with her hands, the voice of one of the men from the crash site came back to her and a piercing pain lanced the side of her head.
El Gringo Viejo was the person who wanted her dead.
Chapter Five
Rob half listened to his coworker as Jane’s face turned white. He raised his eyebrows and pushed a glass of water toward her. Damn, she needed a doctor.
The voice on the phone repeated, “How many tunnels are left to check, Rob?”
“Maybe three. Hey, can we continue this when I get back to the station? I’m in the middle of something.”
He ended the call with the other agent and grabbed Jane’s hand. “Are you okay? You look like you’re about to pass out or be sick or both.”
“Just got a little woozy. I’m okay.”
No matter how many times Jane said that to him, he didn’t believe her. Who crawled from an accident like that with a head injury, on the run from some violent ex-husband, and refused to go to the police or the hospital? Refused to even call family or go home?
“Have some water.”
Jane—whose last name must remain a mystery—had more secrets than a Vegas magician. But she was no criminal, at least not that he’d discovered, yet.
He’d run her prints and nothing had come back. That didn’t mean a whole helluva lot. She could be a lucky criminal who’d never been caught. At least she hadn’t tried to jack Rosita’s.
Jane came up for air after chugging a glass of water, a little more color in her cheeks. “Do you mind if I take a nap at your place while you’re at work? I think I just need some sleep.”
A stranger in his house alone? A stranger swimming in secrets, steeped in lies? He’d offered. Did he think she’d be there only the same time as he would?
“Oh, oh.” She covered her mouth with one hand. “You were just pretending before with Rosie, weren’t you? I’m sorry. Of course you’re not going to allow some random person to stay in your house while you’re gone.”
Heat suffused his chest and Rob took a deep breath, battling to keep it from washing into his face. He’d offered his home to her, and she’d taken him at his word. And he’d meant it...at the time. His fellow agents were always warning him that even though Paradiso was light-years from LA in danger, he shouldn’t treat the place like a friendly little town.
They were too close to the border for that. Hadn’t Las Moscas, the most active cartel in their area, left a couple of severed heads on a Border Patrol agent’s doorstep?
Didn’t stop him from feeling like a jerk.
“Look...” He held out his hand.
Shaking her head, she ignored the gesture. “No, really. I understand completely.”
“Let me finish.” He pushed away his plate. “I’ll get you a room for the afternoon so you can sleep and rest up. Then you can come over for dinner, and we’ll play it by ear. I’m not sure you should be alone anyway, whether at my place or at a motel.”
This time, she put out her hand for a shake. “I accept your kind offer. I can pay you back for the room once I get some wages from Rosie.”
He clasped her hand, feeling it tremble slightly in his. “Don’t worry about paying me back.”
“Sorry to interrupt.” Rosie appeared next to their table, clutching a wad of bills. “This is for you, Jane, for your work today. I pay you in cash. You can come tomorrow, too, same time?”
“Absolutely.” Jane jumped from her chair and hugged Rosie. “Thank you so much.”
Rosie tapped her finger against the bruise beneath Jane’s eye. “You take care of yourself, and I’ll see you tomorrow. Do you need clothes?”
“I’ll pick up a few things.” Jane held up the money Rosie had just given her.
“I have that covered, Rosie.”
Rosie winked. “You’re a good boy, mijo.”
As Rosie disappeared into the kitchen, Jane’s smile faded from her face. “Was that offer for Rosie’s benefit, too?”
Rob swallowed hard. “No. You look about the same size as my buddy’s wife. I was going to ask her for a few things—I swear.”
“I’m just kidding around.” Jane pressed a hand against her heart. “I do understand why you wouldn’t want a stranger in your house when you’re not there. This all could be an elaborate ruse, and I might have an accomplice waiting outside town with a truck, ready to clean you out.”
Rob tugged on his earlobe. “Wow. I didn’t even think of that one.”
“We’d better get going if I’m checking into a motel.” Jane shoved away from the table and collected their dirty dishes. She carried them to the kitchen and said goodbye to the staff.
Rob waved on the way out of the restaurant. As he helped Jane into his truck, he said, “We’ll make a quick stop at the store for a few things.”
The few things turned into a basket filled with ibuprofen, vitamins, bottled water, juice, a couple of T-shirts, snacks and other things to assuage his guilt.
He booked her into the Paradiso Motel and stashed her new belongings, her only belongings, in the room. He snapped the key cards on the credenza next to the TV.
“Should I take one of those, just in case?”
Her whiskey-colored eyes widened. “In case I pass out or die in the room?”
Fear tingled at the back of his neck, and he clapped his hand over it. “Don’t say that. Just in case you need some help. Do you mind?
“I mean, I’m just as much a stranger to
