Kade by Delores Fossen

immigrant father who was looking for his daughter. Anthony had some martial arts skills to make up for all that
lankiness.
    The man wore no scrubs today, as he’d worn in all his interviews with Kade. He was dressed in khakis and a white shirt. He looked like a nerd. If he was carrying a concealed weapon, Kade didn’t see any signs of it. That didn’t mean Kade would let down his guard. Neither would Coop. Or Bree.
    “No reason for those guns,” Anthony called out. “I’m just here to talk.”
    “You mean you’re here to lie,” Coop shouted back.
    Oh, yeah. This could turn ugly fast, and Kade was thankful when he spotted the three armed ranch hands round the east corner of the house. The men stopped Anthony in his tracks, probably because they were armed with rifles that no amount of martial arts could match.
    But those rifles didn’t stop Jamie from getting out of the car.
    Jamie spared the ranch hands a cool, indifferent glance before she slid on a pair of dark sunglasses and strolled toward them as if this were a planned social visit. No nerd status for her. Jamie was tall and lean, and she had her long auburn hair gathered into a sleek ponytail. Kade had always thought Jamie looked more like a socialite than a nurse.
    “How did you know I was here?” Coop demanded.
    “I didn’t.” Anthony looked past him and put his attention on Bree. “I came here to see you. It’s all over the news about the shooting, and since Agent Ryland wasn’t at his office in San Antonio, I thought he might bring you here. Obviously, I guessed right.”
    Kade hoped it was a guess, and that Anthony didn’t have any insider knowledge. Of course, Anthony could have learned Bree’s location from his father, but Kade didn’t think the two were on speaking terms.
    “Why’d you want to see Bree?” Kade demanded while Anthony and Coop started another glaring contest with each other.
    “Because SAPD has been hassling us again,” Jamie calmly provided. “And Anthony and I thought we’d better nip this in the bud.”
    “What are you planning to nip?” Kade asked, and he didn’t bother trying to sound friendly. He wanted all three of these people off his porch and off his family’s property.
    “You, if necessary.” Jamie turned toward Kade, though with those dark shades, he couldn’t tell exactly where she was looking. “You had your shot at investigating us, and you found nothing on me other than a few charges that you can’t make stick.”
    “Not yet. But at least you’ll do some time in jail. That’ll be enough for now.” Kade knew it sounded like a threat, and he was glad of it. “Bree’s been through hell and back, and someone will pay for that.”
    Anthony pointed toward Coop. “What about him? He should be the one paying.”
    “I warned you about those lies.” There was a dark, dangerous edge to Coop’s voice.
    Still, Anthony came closer, but he pleaded his case to Bree, not Coop or Kade. “Did Agent Cooper tell you that he provided security to the Fulbright clinic and that he was paid a hefty amount for his services?”
    “Security?” Kade repeated over Coop’s profanity-punctuated shouts that this was all a crock.
    Anthony nodded, and Jamie strolled closer until she was near the bottom step and standing next to Anthony. “It’s true. Anthony’s father told me that Agent Cooper kept the local cops from digging too deeply into what was going on.”
    Coop turned that profanity tirade to Jamie, but it didn’t stop the woman from continuing.
    “Hector said Cooper was stunned when he realized Bree, one of his own agents, had been sneaked into the undercover assignment at the clinic that could ultimately land him in jail.” Jamie paused, a trace of a smile on her dark red lips. “And Anthony here has proof.”
    Anthony had a bit of a smile going on, as well. Kade could understand why— if there was proof. And it was that possibility of proof that kept Kade from latching onto them and giving them the