Josh's Challenge Read online

  Charlie put his hands on his hips. “We aren’t fighting.”

  “Yeah,” Marco agreed. “We’re discussing.”

  Josh stopped in his tracks and turned around. “You know that’s exactly what my parents used to tell us boys when we were little, right? Are you sure you two aren’t married?”

  Charlie and Marco stared at each for a moment before turning back to Josh. “Yeah, we’re sure,” they said in unison.

  Josh shook his head and continued down the hallway, both boys hot on his heels.

  “Look, we need to talk,” Charlie said.

  “About you and Marguerite,” explained Marco.

  “Nothing to talk about,” Josh mumbled as he entered the kitchen. He headed straight to the bread box but found only the heels left from the loaf. Irritated, he searched the pantry until he found some of Jessica’s fish-shaped cheese crackers in weird colors. Why kids liked this stuff was beyond him. He stuck his hand in the bag and shoved a bunch in his mouth. Since his mouth had been filled with cotton only a short while ago, the crackers didn’t taste like anything but dirt. Maybe another iced tea was in order.

  He turned in time for Charlie to hand him a tall glass filled with beautiful golden liquid. “Hunffs,” he said around the mashed-up mess in his mouth.

  “You’re welcome. Now, about last night. We think we know who took those pictures.”

  Marco nodded. “And we know why.”

  The boys nodded at each other in agreement before telling their story. Josh listened to their tale as he finished off the bag of crackers and two glasses of iced tea. What they said didn’t surprise him. Women could be devious when they wanted to be, and there were a few devious ones in Timbisha. What he couldn’t figure out was why anyone would want to hurt Melissa in the process, and to what lengths this particular vixen would go to get what she wanted.

  “Have you told Jarod yet?” he asked with grim curiosity.

  “No, we thought we should tell you first since it’s your face that’s all over the Internet,” Charlie said.

  “I need to get to Melissa’s,” Josh said as he stood up.

  “Missy is at the hospital,” Marco said.

  “How do you know?”

  “Dude, I’m a small-town taxi driver. I usually know where everyone is at any given moment,” Marco said smugly.

  “Well, then, taxi me to the hospital, will ya? I’m without wheels ’til I can get my truck out of impound.”

  Missy stood in the doorway while her ill mother silently cried over Marguerite. Her sister never took drugs, and she’d never behaved as erratically as she had in those videos. However, between Josh’s reputation as a hound and Marguerite’s ability to get what she wanted, Missy was having a hard time not believing that they had betrayed her.

  Movement down the hall caught her attention. Jarod and the marshal were deep in a quiet discussion. Seeing Jarod King only reminded her of Josh. Missy turned away from the scene, swallowing her hurt, and tried to focus on her own family.

  “The doctors say she’s going to be fine.” Uncle Dane wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

  “Why won’t she wake up?”

  Dane grunted. “It’s possible that she’s had an allergic reaction to the drugs that were slipped into her drink. They’re giving her something to counteract their effect. The doctors are hopeful she’ll wake soon.”

  “Will she be okay?”

  “Honey, we’re talking about Marguerite.” Though fear was still plain on his face, Uncle Dane gave her a reassuring squeeze.

  “Why would Josh drug her?”

  “Josh?” he said incredulously. “Melissa, that boy was doped up too.”

  “I saw the videos, Uncle Dane. I know that you’re loyal to the Kings, but I also know what I saw.” Josh kissing Marguerite, dancing, partying, having a date together while Missy worked late. She couldn’t get the images out of her head. She’d never considered herself a jealous person, but the green-eyed monster was in total control of her emotions right now.

  “You saw what someone wanted you to see, Melissa Ann.” He turned her to face him so he could glare down at her. “Josh King loves you, not your sister.”

  “But Facebook—”

  “Stop it,” he said as he shook her. “Did you forget that you’re being stalked? This has ‘setup’ written all over it.”

  “Mizz Theroux.” Marshal McKinley had approached them while her uncle had been giving her what-for. “I couldn’t help but overhear you. Marguerite went to Blue’s to meet me. I’d meant to be there sooner but I got tied up in something, and by the time I arrived, both she and Josh were lit up like firecrackers.”

  “I see,” she said as another tear ran down her cheek.

  “Do you? Because it sounds to me like you think your big sister has the hots for my little brother,” Jarod said now. “I can assure you that that just isn’t the case, but even if she did, Josh has had it bad for you for a long time now.”

  “Do you honestly think that your own flesh and blood would betray you like that, Missy?” Dane asked.

  “Do you honestly think I’d keep her on if she did?” Jarod asked. “Loyalty, especially to family, is a quality I value in my employees. Your sister has it in spades. No, Marguerite and I may not have gotten along at first, but she’s as loyal to family as they come.”

  Of course, with so many handsome males and overwhelming emotions surrounding her, she lacked the ability to speak, so she nodded instead and looked back into her sister’s room.

  “Why don’t you go sit with your mom? She needs you now.” Dane hugged her close for a second and then gave her a little push into the hospital room.

  Marguerite lay motionless and pale in the hospital bed, her makeup smeared away and her hair a wreck. If—when, she corrected herself—she woke up, she was going to be in a complete tizzy about her appearance.

  Darla’s frail hand clasped Marguerite’s limp wrist, careful not to touch where the IV needle was inserted into her hand. Darla turned in her wheelchair as Missy approached the bed and revealed a ravaged, fear-filled expression. “Oh, Missy!” she said, lifting her arms out for a hug.

  When Missy reached her mother, they both broke down in sorrow. “They said someone drugged her?” Darla cried. “Who would do this?”

  “I don’t know, Mom. Uncle Dane, Sheriff King, and Marshal McKinley are working on it.” God, she hoped they found the person responsible.

  Suddenly, her mother grabbed her face with both hands. “Dane explained to me about the photos on the Internet. You listen to me and you listen good, young lady. Your sister would never betray you, do you hear me?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Her mother’s grip was stronger than it had been in months.

  “And don’t you believe that Josh had anything to do with this. That boy loves you, honey, not Marguerite.” Then she grabbed her in a fierce hug that would have hurt if the woman were healthy. Missy couldn’t stop crying now.

  They held each other as they watched Marguerite lying quietly on the bed. A nurse came in to check her sister’s vitals, and the men stood outside talking. It wasn’t until the nurse simpered at one of the men that she realized Josh was present.

  She turned in time for her gaze to collide with his. He was pale even under his tan, and his once-beautifully clear eyes were red-rimmed and bloodshot.

  “Go to him,” her mother whispered, and before she knew what she was doing, she was almost running into his arms.

  “Oh, thank God,” he whispered into her ear as he held her firm. He felt so good, and she’d missed him so much that all the angst of the night before and the pain of this morning evaporated into sweet relief. “I didn’t do this, baby. You have to believe me.” Warm hands on her cheeks, he held her face to his and looked into her eyes. “I love you, Melissa Ann Theroux. Not your sister, or anyone else. I love you.” He stressed the last part, and everyone including her mother and her uncle heard him.

  “I love you, too,” she whispered.

  H
e kissed her hard. Reality and embarrassment were too strong for Missy, so she ended the kiss on a laugh and gently pushed him back. She had so many questions, and before she knew it the anger was back.

  “Why haven’t you called me?” she asked through the doubt and pain. “Why, Josh?” she asked with force. All the men looked surprised, but she didn’t care. “I waited a week for you to call. You were the one who left for the weekend, and then I just never heard back from you. What the hell was I supposed to think?” she yelled.

  Taken aback, he smiled. “I did call.”

  She didn’t understand. She dug her phone out and showed it to him. “Really? Prove it!”

  Chuckling, he shrugged and pulled out his own phone. “Okay,” he said, handing it to her. She grabbed it and scrolled through his call log and texts. He’d called more than a dozen times and sent her text messages, none of them appearing on her phone.

  “What does this mean?”

  “It means I’ve been blocked,” Josh said with resignation.

  “But how?” She was confused. She’d never block him from her phone. She had a password, too, so no one else could’ve done it.

  Some monitors beeped in Marguerite’s room before they heard Darla gasp in relief. Missy’s sister was waking up. The crowd in the hall moved into the room. That’s when Missy noticed that Charlie and Marco were there, too. Charlie reached out a hand to Missy. “Can I see your phone? I have an idea how it was hacked.”

  She immediately gave it to him. “Hacked?” The idea of someone having access to her phone made her sick. All of Josh’s previous texts and voicemails, the ones she’d kept of him expressing his love for her, were on that phone. She hadn’t deleted them even when she’d thought he’d betrayed her.

  “Yeah,” Charlie mumbled as he concentrated on the phone while Marco looked over his shoulder and periodically pointed at something on her screen.

  “While they fiddle around with that, maybe you should say hello to your sister,” Josh whispered in her ear.

  She turned and saw Marguerite sitting up but looked peaked. Darla held a plastic cup with a flexible straw for her daughter to take a sip. “What’s with the peanut gallery?” she rasped.

  The whole room sighed in relief at her sarcastic tone, weak though it was. “We just wanted to see what you looked like hungover,” Jarod said.

  Marguerite’s eyes widened before a hand went to her hair, and then an embarrassed groan issued from her mouth. “Get out so I can get dressed, will ya?”

  “Not a chance,” Darla said.

  “Fine.” She closed her eyes with resignation before she asked, “Jarod, please tell me you caught the driver of the truck that ran me over.”

  Everyone chuckled then. “No,” he said, “there was no truck, but maybe you can fill in some blanks for us.”

  Her expression became grave. “I’ll try.” Her eyes went to the marshal. “You called me and wanted to meet at Blue’s Whiskey Bar, right?”

  “Right,” he said quietly, and Missy swore she saw regret on his face.

  “I remember Josh was there playing darts.” She looked to Josh for confirmation. “Jeez, you look like shit.”

  “Feel like shit, too. Go on, because I don’t remember seeing you at all. I barely remember the darts.”

  At that admission, Marguerite looked scared. She looked at everyone in the room, then the IV in her arm, and a tear fell. “What’s happened, guys?”

  “You and Josh were drugged, honey,” Darla said. “If it weren’t for the marshal, God only knows what would’ve happened to you.”

  “SOMEONE HAS JAILBROKEN Missy’s phone,” Charlie announced to the room.

  “What’s that mean?” Josh asked. He’d heard the term before, but he’d never taken the time to find out the ins and outs of a smartphone’s operating system.

  “Well, whoever did it has installed spyware and apps to block callers. It also looks like they’ve forwarded all received messages to another phone,” Marco answered.

  “Yeah, I’m trying to figure out where, though,” Charlie said in concentration as he manipulated the phone in his hands.

  “That’s why I couldn’t get through to her.” Josh was pissed. All this time Missy hadn’t blocked him. Then he remembered the creepy warning he’d found in the box along with a drugged-up Ginger: Stay away from what’s mine. Making you disappear will be easier than the cat.

  “What is it?” Jarod asked going into cop mode.

  Josh shook his head. He didn’t want to spook the girls any more than they already had been. “Just thinking about past messages,” he said to Jarod with meaning.

  Jarod narrowed his eyes before he nodded in agreement. “Marshal, we need to talk.”

  “Got it!” Charlie announced. He handed the phone to Jarod. “Can you trace the number?”

  “I can,” Dane said.

  “I think I can do it, Bainbridge,” Jarod said with disgust. “Stay with your family. McKinley and I can take it from here.”

  “You two have been mucking this up from the beginning,” Dane accused.

  “Now wait just a damn minute,” Jarod said.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” McKinley asked.

  “Guys! I think you all should go and work together. Please.” Melissa stood up. “My sister is in the hospital and my boyfriend has been drugged, all because of me. You all have talents and resources that you can pool together to find whoever is doing this before anyone else gets hurt. Now go!” She actually pointed to the doorway.

  She was magnificent.

  “Yeah, what she said,” Josh agreed. “Seriously, Jarod, put away the territorial bullshit and work with them, will ya?” He couldn’t fight the smile on his face because he loved it when his brother stepped in it. “If you don’t, I’m telling Mom.”

  Jarod narrowed his eyes. “You wouldn’t dare.”

  He nodded. “And Lauren.”

  Jarod sighed in disgust. “Gentleman, follow me,” he said, but before he left he went to Marguerite’s bedside and hugged her, whispering something that Josh couldn’t hear. When Marguerite smiled and nodded, Jarod stood up and left the room, assuming the other men would follow. They did, but not without their own goodbyes to the patient. Josh didn’t miss the longing in the marshal’s eyes as he left the room.

  “Crap, we forgot to tell them,” Charlie said as he ran out of the room, Marco hot on his heels.

  “Tell them what?” Darla asked.

  “Their theory of who could be doing this,” Josh said. If they were right, then he had to get Melissa out of her house. “Where’s Ginger?”

  “Home, why?”

  “’Kay, hold on.” Josh followed after the other men.

  Charlie was just explaining everything when Josh caught up to them. “Marco takes her to work, but the other night he noticed that she didn’t go in.”

  “Yeah, so I followed her. She backtracked to a car that I haven’t seen before—a Land Rover, I think. Anyway, she took an old trail up the hill on the other side of town. I didn’t follow beyond the old mining road in my car. It’s my only set of wheels and how I make money, ya know?” Marco looked worried. “I think she’s Missy’s stalker, guys.”

  “Why do you think that?” Jarod asked.

  “Well, she’s always carting around vials of medicine in her bag.”

  Josh shared a look with Jarod, who glanced at McKinley, who was eyeing Dane.

  “Marco?” Josh asked, “can you give me a ride to impound? I need my truck, and I need to go get Ginger and move her to my townhouse.”

  “I don’t want you going there alone,” Jarod gritted out through his teeth. “I’ll take you, and while we’re there, I think we should bring Angelica in for questioning.”

  The other men agreed.

  “Charlie, you and Marco stay away from her until we can sort this out,” Dane said.

  “Yessir,” both boys said in unison.

  “I’m going to the personnel office and see what I can dig up from the
re. You three go get the damn cat and take it to the estate. For now, I don’t want you staying at either townhouse until we get this sorted out,” the ex-FBI man said.

  “Now wait a minute. I can take care of myself,” Josh argued.

  “Really? If she’s Missy’s stalker, then you’re in just as much danger as Harold Schurke was, and you know how he ended up.”

  Jarod and McKinley agreed, which irritated Josh. He knew women and he could handle Angelica, but now wasn’t the time for arguing. “Fine, but I don’t want Melissa there either. Mom will have to make her a room.”

  Dane cleared his throat in fatherly disagreement. “She’ll be staying with her mother.”

  Properly chastised, Josh said, “Yessir.”

  However, Jarod interrupted. “No one is safe. I think that Darla, Marguerite, and Melissa should stay at the estate. It’s more secure and there’s plenty of room.” He didn’t bother waiting for an argument.

  After saying goodbye to Melissa, Josh left with Jarod and McKinley to get the cat. Angelica wasn’t home, and Josh assumed she’d gone to work or had a hideout in the hills. Ginger was happy to see him, and he quickly got her things together. He was back in the cruiser within minutes. “Don’t you want to lift her prints or collect DNA or something?”

  McKinley laughed. “You’ve been watching too many CSIs.” Josh was about tell him to screw off when the marshal’s phone rang. “McKinley,” he answered.

  After a few “’s that rights?” and “no shits,” McKinley put his phone away. “That was Bainbridge. Turns out Angelica Daemon is not, and never has been, an employee of Timbisha County Medical Center.”

  “How can that be? She was Julie’s nurse when the babies were born,” Josh said. Incredulous didn’t cover the feeling that came over him.

  Jarod swore.

  McKinley said, “I ran a background check on her when I first arrived in town.”

  “Why?” Jarod asked.

  “Because I was being thorough. Schurke was a fugitive, living under an assumed name, and Bainbridge’s niece was being stalked. I ran checks on everyone associated with Mizz Theroux, and wanna know what I found on Angelica? Zip.”