Cowboy In The Crossfire(32)

"You could have talked to him, asked him what was going on."

"Why would I confide in the man who forged my name in the evidence room when a stash of guns went missing? Besides, I had to be careful. They'd made me look more than guilty. I'm shocked they didn't throw me in jail. With the right prosecutor and judge, they would've been able to make it stick."

"Then why aren't you behind bars?"

"I've asked myself that same question more than once."

He turned down a quiet street, clearly wanting to stay off some of the main thoroughfares.

"You didn't go quietly."

"Hell, no. I was meeting with IA the morning--" His voice trailed off. "The morning my family died." Blake's knuckles went white on the steering wheel. "Damn them. They timed the accident that way. They killed Kathy and Joey to distract me, stop my questions."

Amanda shuddered, her mind whirling at the danger they faced. "They were innocent. Just like Ethan."

"Their plan succeeded." Blake's voice had gone low and cold, his fury punctuated in the bite of each word. "I was torn up. I let the investigation go. By the time I was myself again...they'd covered their tracks.

"Then Dad died. I left, but I knew Vince would tip his hand sooner or later. He could never bluff in poker either. Not for the entire game." Blake flicked on his blinker and eased the SUV into an exit lane. "Vince should've stood with me."

"I think he did. In his own way." Her idiot brother. Trying to protect everyone else. Never telling anyone what was going on. She gripped the denim of her jeans and worried the fabric. "What if you thought Vince was in real danger? What would you do?"

"Whatever it took."

"Vince was the same way, wasn't he?"

Blake didn't pause. "He was bullheaded. He'd grab hold of something like a rottweiler. Never let it go."

"And if you'd been convinced his family--me and Ethan--were in danger?"

"I'd have tried to get him out of the way while I..." Blake's voice trailed off. He shook his head. "Same logic works if I was hip-deep in corruption. Get the guy out of town who could bring me down."

"I can't believe you're calling Vince stubborn. Have you looked in the mirror? Everything is black and white with you, Blake."

"It has to be. Without certainty in right and wrong, it's too easy to take the wrong path. My dad taught me that, too."

"Then why aren't you turning me in for stealing that car?"

"Because right and the law don't seem to go hand and hand these days." Blake turned the corner and closed in on Vince's street. "The alley behind the house?"

"Yes. Turn on the next block."

Blake ignored Amanda and drove toward the front door.

"Are you crazy? Someone might see us," she hissed.

"Get down," he said, removing his Stetson. Her head rested on his thigh, and he slowly drove past the front door of Vince's house. "No crime scene tape. No cars. Place looks deserted."

He rounded the corner, then eased the car into a tight alley. "You can get up now." He pulled to a stop. "I don't like it. No way out if they block us in," he said.

"No one knows we're here."

"You assume. That's a sure way to get us killed." He faced her. "Vince's house isn't that big. The place has probably been turned already. But Vince wasn't a fool. He would've hidden the evidence out of sight. We should start in your or Ethan's rooms. He'd want you to be able to find it."

"So we're looking for a folder?"

"Could be paper, but more likely a CD or memory card. Anything that might have information on it. He could've hidden it anywhere. Focus on things you or Ethan would've taken with you. Backs of pictures, toys, valuables. If I were keeping evidence, I'd have stashed it in a couple of places. For backup."

"Like at a lawyer's?"

"Or in a safety deposit box." He unclicked his seat belt and turned to her. "Look for a key, too. Grab his address book if you can."

Blake put the vehicle in park and glanced around the quiet alley. "I don't like it, but better leaving it here than on the street to attract even more attention."

She reached for the door, but he placed his hand over her arm. "Wait."

He stepped out of the car and looked around, then motioned for her to follow. She exited the vehicle and stood by his side, staring at the six-foot cinder-block wall. She couldn't believe she was actually breaking in to her own brother's house.

She started toward the gate, but he held her back. "Too obvious. They may have it wired. We go over the wall."

Blake hoisted himself up with ease. He scanned the backyard for at least a minute through the branches of a large tree. "Looks clear." He dropped to the ground and cupped his hands. Amanda stepped into his grip, and in one quick movement she grasped the wall with her arms, ignoring the twinge on her side. She hooked her leg over and maneuvered to the top.

She'd never viewed the backyard from this angle. Ethan's baseball and bat lay in the lawn. His glove should've been nearby. She'd begged Vince to play outside with Ethan more often. She sighed. She understood now why he hadn't.