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He smiled at her. “You were great this evening. Hector never knew what hit him.” He clasped her hand. “Too bad you’re on duty. We could go out for a beer and celebrate.”
She squeezed his fingers. “I would have liked that, Cal.” Her eyes were warm and inviting. “Maybe tomorrow night? Let’s try to work something out, okay?”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Her smile was sweet and sexy, telling him without words that she was as attracted to him as he was to her.
***
Cal spent the morningupdating his report with everything they’d gleaned from Escareno. There was still so much more they wanted to know, and he was sure that the guy had the information.
He arrived at the safe house fifteen minutes early. Vic wasn’t there yet, and Hector was in the living room watching TV. The man didn’t acknowledge him when he walked in, which was fine by Cal.
He went into the kitchen and made himself a cup of coffee.
Banning did the same, saying, “Everything’s been quiet. He was still sleeping when Vic left this morning. He got up and fixed himself some eggs and sausage not long ago. I told him that I wasn’t his cook.”
“Good. No use in starting that. The guy can look after himself.” Cal checked in the fridge and found some half-and-half, adding it to his coffee.
Vic arrived and called, “Hector, come eat. I brought hamburgers.” She set a large paper bag on the kitchen counter and smiled. “Hey, Cal. How’d you sleep?”
“Like a baby. Did you get any rest?”
“When I got back to the hotel, I was out like a light. I’m ready to rock.” She removed several hamburgers from the bag, then some boxes of fries. “Eat up, everyone. It’s going to be a long afternoon.”
And it was. Hector would only give information in bits and pieces. It was as if the seriousness of his betrayal was sinking in, and fear had taken over. They learned the locations of several safe houses the cartel used on the main drug route from El Paso down through Texas, as well as the location of another tunnel in Nuevo Laredo.
Cal ordered pizza for dinner again, and then they kept at it. Hector was looking fatigued, but Cal figured that might get them more information. At ten, they stopped for the day. Vic changed Hector’s bandages per the nurse’s instructions, and he went off to bed.
When Banning showed up again at 10:45 p.m., Vic turned to Cal. “You ready to celebrate, cowboy?”
“I could definitely use a beer. I’ll follow you.” Cal was tired, but the idea of spending some one-on-one time with Vic was way more attractive than his bed.
She took them to the Centennial Bar, a quiet place on a weeknight, which was exactly what he craved.
She led him to one of the tables by the windows, and they took chairs next to each other so they could talk quietly. Soon, they each had a glass of cold beer in front of them.
She raised hers. “To talkative thugs.”
He laughed and tapped his glass to hers. “To DEA agents who make them talk.”
She grinned. “And to the best Ranger in Texas. You did your part, cowboy. I don’t get all the glory.”
“I’ll bet your boss is happy. Have they catalogued the drugs yet?” Cal asked as he took a swallow of his beer.
“Yep. It’s the biggest bust we’ve had in months. And, yeah, my ASAC is over the moon at all of the info we’re getting from Escareno.” She smiled slowly at him, and it looked more than friendly.
She crossed her legs, brushing his knee, and a shiver of desire went through him.
As she took a long swallow of her beer, she held his gaze.
She was coming on to him, but subtly, so that he could ignore it if he chose. He chose not to. He leaned toward her. “I enjoy working with you, Vic.”
She gave him that smile again. “Likewise, Cal.” Leaning toward him so that their faces were only inches apart, she said, “In fact, I just like hanging out with you, Mister Texas Ranger.”
God, he could so easily kiss her. Did she want that?
She closed the distance between them and kissed his cheek. “I think you’re the nicest man I’ve ever met.”
