His Texas Touch
“Come on in here, miss.” Basil’s affectionate name for his eldest child seemed to vibrate in the spacious room with its rich maple paneling, plush carpeting and floor-to-ceiling windows. He met Avra in the middle of the office where he plied her with a kiss, hug and his own apology.
Surprise filtered through her vibrant brown eyes. “Dad?”
Basil tucked her into his side and squeezed. “I’ve been pretty closed off for a while.”
“Well, a lot’s happened.” It was the opening she’d been hoping for. “Some good.” She made a pretense of straightening her father’s tie. “Khouri’s getting married.”
A broad grin illuminated Basil’s handsome face. “I can’t tell you how pleased I am by that and by the girl he’s chosen.”
“Yeah, the weirdo finally lucked out. Setha’s a real catch.” Avra smiled over her combination playful insult and genuine compliment. Still, the ease of her expression began to show signs of weariness.
“There’s been a lot of the not so good, too.” She tugged Basil with her to lean against the edge of the desk. “These murders… I know it has to hurt seeing such a good friend dealing with drama like this.”
Basil left the desk at his daughter’s mention of the murders targeting the employees of Machine Melendez, the company founded by one of his oldest friends. Avra watched her father pacing the room and she knew where his mind was. Good. She wanted to keep it there.
“You’ll be happy to know David and Noah are taking your suggestion—to follow the money,” Avra tacked on when Basil looked her way. “They might break this thing before the police.” She laughed slightly referring to the Ross Review reporters assigned to the MM murders story.
“Have they found anything?” Basil watched his daughter closely.
“No.” She focused on one of the small lavender buttons lining the front of her cap-sleeved blouse. “They’ve got lots of loose pieces, though. With any luck they’ll put ’em together soon enough.” She let her eyes drift downward then. “I’ve been putting together a few links of my own.” She noticed that her father had returned to his pacing. “I’ve been going through Wade’s old notes.”
The pacing stopped.
“Whatever for?” He sounded incredulous.
“I think maybe Carson Arroyo had gripes with the Melendezes and the Rosses. Whatever it was, I’m betting it had something to do with his dad’s so-called suicide. Wade was working on that story in conjunction with John Holloway’s obit just before he died.”
Basil shook his head, obviously confused.
“Carson Arroyo was John Holloway’s son. Holloway was the Melendez employee who apparently killed himself after being fired.”
Basil returned to his seat, slowly easing down to the corner. “How do you know this?”
“Actually, it was Khouri and Setha who made the connection.” Avra faced her dad across the desk. She waited for the man’s reaction.
“Do the police know?”
She’d found what she’d come in search of. “It all came out when Carson was killed.” She nodded. “Maybe the cops can start putting it all together. In the meantime—” she slid off the desk and tugged on the hem of the satin blouse hanging outside her slacks “—I’m gonna do my part and dig some more. Maybe I can find a key to this mess.”
“I don’t want you involved.” The tightness of Basil’s voice matched his expression to perfection. “You have your own work to see to.”
“Oh, Daddy, it won’t interfere—”
“I said stay out of it.”
“Why?” Ever outspoken, she voiced the query with a frown.
Basil leaned forward. “Because I said so.”
“Dad.”
“You’re skating on the thinnest piece of ice now, miss.”
Understanding the warning, Avra barely nodded. She left the office soon after.
* * *
It went without saying that Avra was a million miles away in thought when she returned to her office. She muttered below her breath, talking about what she suspected and what she’d uncovered.
Her thumbnail was raking her chin when she strolled through her door, never noticing Samson Melendez sitting behind her desk. She was standing before him on the other side of the cluttered oak top, observing him blankly for several seconds before tuning in to what was really going on.
Sam hid his smile, fingers laced in his lap while he reared back in her chair and watched the absent look on her face change into one of scathing speculation.
“Afternoon,” he greeted before she could open her mouth to blast him.
“What are you doing in here?” She looked back quickly to check on the notes she’d recovered from Wade’s. They appeared to be untouched. Propping one hand to her hip, she fixed Sam with an expectant stare.
Sam, however, was in no hurry to explain, happy to keep her standing there for his appraisal. Of course when Samson Melendez appraised, a woman was left with no doubts as to what he was doing. Sam’s usual “appraisal,” however, was most often a purely physical observation of the woman he intended on taking to bed. Rarely did those observations involve emotional attachment.
Sam recognized it, though. As he observed the tall, dark chocolate beauty before the desk, he knew that emotions had definitely attached themselves. His constant appraisal of Avra Ross had finally carried things to a purely irresistible level. Not until she called—er—yelled his name, did he blink. Smoothly, he recalled his real reason for dropping by that afternoon.
“Kemah trip’s been scheduled. We should discuss the itinerary.” Sam referred to the scouting trip to locations for new MM ads in the Ross Review.
Avra lifted her hands briefly and let them hit her thighs with a soft clap. “Is your wireless service down, Sam? A call, email or text would’ve been just fine for this talk—better, actually.”
“Why better?” Sam grimaced, unaware that he was doing so.
Avra watched him as though he were losing his mind in front of her. “Samson, if somebody was using our names in the same sentence, chances were they’d be recapping a fight.”
Laughter roused hearty and long from Sam then. Avra bristled, feeling herself react to the sound in a way that wasn’t altogether unpleasant. When he stood behind her desk, she covertly appraised the stunning breadth of him. She wondered, as she often did, whether he was really that…massive. Perhaps it was merely a trick of finely crafted clothing, she thought eyeing the dark olive three-piece.
She’d collected herself and smothered her admiration by the time he stood before her.
“We leave in three days,” he was saying.
“What about the wedding?”
“We’ll be back in plenty of time.” He gave a quick, light shake of his head. “Bride and groom want this thing in the bag. Least we can do since they worked so hard to take care of what we couldn’t.”
“You know, one of my staff could give the okay on this location stuff just as well as I can.”
“Not good enough.”
“Look, Sam—”
“Come with me or the agreement’s null.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I can’t believe you’d stoop so low.”
“Sure you can.”
Avra looked down at the carpet where she stabbed it with the heel of her lavender pump. “There’s something you enjoy about giving me a hard time, isn’t there?”
Appearing to contemplate her words, Sam tapped his fingers to the seductive curve of his mouth and smiled faintly.
Avra felt helpless to direct her gaze away from the gesture.
“I think you’re right,” he muttered.
“That’s a first.”
Any more that she might have said was silenced when his mouth crashed down on hers and he proceeded to kiss her hungrily. Resisting never occurred to Avra. She was determined to find out whether or not his build was credited to great tailoring or genetics.
Quickly she discovered it was all him. Heatedly she participated in the kiss, caressing his tongue over and under as she moaned unashamed.
Eventually it was Sam who pulled back, but only briefly. When he spied the wetness on her mouth, he couldn’t resist another taste of her.
Faintly—very faintly—Avra realized she wasn’t refusing him. She didn’t want to refuse. Sam realized it, as well. Big hands cupping her delicate face, he drove his tongue deeper, craving more of her unique taste.
He ordered his need to cool and broke the kiss, stroking the tips of his thumbs across her moist, swollen lips. He waited until she brought her eyes to his. The smile he directed her way wasn’t gloating, but tender. “I’m gonna have to work on changing your perception of me.” He left her alone soon after.
Dazedly Avra stumbled back to her desk and leaned on one corner. It was some time before her breathing slowed.
Chapter 2
“Damn him.” Avra blurted the words and shoved aside the file she’d been trying to review since she got up that morning.
Memories of the kiss with Sam Melendez that previous afternoon had her mind and everything else reacting to it. How dare he kiss her? How dare she want it? She despised the man, didn’t she? They’d known each other for two years as business associates. Before that she’d known of him. He was the son of one
of her father’s oldest friends. From scores of female acquaintances she’d heard he was built, with looks to die for.
Once she’d officially met him, she realized those accolades were well deserved. But he shouldn’t have kissed her. She shouldn’t have wanted it and more still after he’d walked out of her office.
The fact that he wanted her in his bed was no secret. He’d been up front about that from a few days after they’d first met to work on the Machine Melendez account with the Ross Review.
Avra cursed again. She had railed too long and too hard against strong, commanding men to give any part of herself to the likes of Sam Melendez. Strong, commanding, chauvinistic, politically incorrect men like Sam Melendez, she added. If he was simply one of her many male friends, she could find amusement in his lack of decorum and sexist nature. As it was directed toward her and he was ever so confident about taking her to bed, those less than admirable traits of his only grated more heavily on her nerves.
She stooped to the floor and began to collect the papers from the Wade Cornelius file that were scattered around the settee in her living room. She wondered if Sam knew how much of her hard-hearted approach was an act. It was unfortunately the only way she could ignore the way her body reacted to his presence and all the other things he did to get under her skin.
Sadly she’d devised no other method for resisting a reaction to his touch. If yesterday afternoon was any example, she was in serious trouble if he did that again.
Closing her eyes, she settled back against one of the settee’s claw-footed legs and surrendered to a delicious shiver that raced through her body then. To no one else would she admit how very much she wanted him to kiss her again. When the phone rang her out of her daydream, Avra snapped to and decided that was the last thing she should be wanting.
Papers gathered though haphazardly arranged inside the manila envelope, Avra put the file on the settee and went to answer the phone. She laughed, noticing the name on the caller ID and cheerfully greeted her soon-to-be sister-in-law.
Setha Melendez sounded equally cheerful on the other end of the phone. That was to be expected, of course. Still, Avra felt the need to interrupt some of the cheer when Setha kept going on and on about the fun they were going to have when she came to stay at Sam’s place.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Well, I… Well, it’s all set for you to come and stay here for the shower party.”
“Setha…who told you that?” Avra didn’t need the answer. She already had it.
“Well, Sam said it was pretty much a done deal. Humph,” Setha grunted, understanding the problem all too well. “Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. Just don’t expect me out there.”
“Uh-uh. No way, Av,” the bride snapped. “I’m sorry Sam didn’t tell you, but you can’t back out now.”
“Why the devil do you need me there?” Avra massaged the curls that tapered at her neck while pacing the short distance between the settee and the phone table. “You’ve got tons of friends—have one or all of ’em stay out there with you. Sam would love that.” She grimaced over the thought.
“Don’t bank on it,” Setha muttered.
Avra stopped pacing. “Honey, what are you up to?’
“I’m hoping you can take Sam’s mind off whatever’s got him so edgy.”
Avra had to laugh and it felt good to relieve a bit of the tension she struggled with that morning. “Honey, he’s edgy over me, as usual.”
“Avra, I honestly have no clue how he feels about you. I’m not so quick to say his feelings are bad, though.”
There was another quick flash in Avra’s mind about the kiss. The way he felt next to her—the way his mouth felt on hers, his tongue… She shook her head and quietly told herself to forget it.
“Besides, we can talk about the contract while you’re here.” Setha made the comment regarding the contract detailing the advertising renegotiations between the Ross Review and Machine Melendez airily enough but couldn’t completely dismiss the urgency from her voice. “You can review it once more to be sure we’re all on the same page with it all before the shooting for the ads starts in its entirety.”
“Crap,” Avra huffed, knocking a fist against the folds of the peach robe that draped past her ankles. “I don’t have a problem with waiting, hashing out everything at the final meeting.”
Setha huffed then, too. “Look, Avra…”
Avra felt her brow creasing. The tone of Setha’s voice was fueled by more than the usual brother/sister agitations.
“There’s something different—Sam’s…always been protective, but this… It’s more than normal.”
“His baby sister’s gettin’ married, hon. That’s a big deal,” Avra softly pointed out.
“Yeah…I just hoped he’d loosen up with Carson Arroyo out of the picture. I’ve tried to get him to talk about whatever’s goin’ on but he just clams up. It’s just him and me out here and I’m ’bout fed up with his mood.”
“Right…” Avra rubbed the creases in her brow then, understanding the woman’s frustration. “Honey, um…you know you are a grown woman. You could always stay with Khouri. You guys are about to get married.”
“I know it’s stupid and old-fashioned.” Setha’s laughter came out brief across the phone line. “I just felt like it’s the least I could do since I really did just spring all this on them. They didn’t even know I was seeing anyone for Pete’s sake.”
Avra strolled back to sit on the arm of a chair near the phone table. “Did they give you a hard time about it?”
“Oh, no! Not even—which is a real surprise. They all like Khouri. They’re happy for me but I think they’re afraid they’ll lose me once I become a wife.”
“Well…they’re not altogether wrong about that.” Avra had settled into big-sister mode, always eager to offer an ear to listen.
“This is different, though.” Setha’s voice had gone softer. “I virtually closed myself off to them when I was investigating all that stuff about Carson Arroyo. Staying with Sam’s the least I can do to make myself more available to them—for a little while longer anyway.”
“So go stay with Mr. Dan.” Avra referred to Setha’s father and a sudden smile curved her mouth. “You’d get no argument from me about coming to stay over then.”
“Sorry, girl, even big, bad Danilo Melendez wasn’t willing to fight with Sam when he roared about me staying here with him.”
Avra felt herself losing the battle.
“So? Will you come?”
Avra broke into a frustrated dance-jerk on the settee and rolled her eyes. “I’ll be there.” She managed to keep her voice level. Silently she acknowledged the part she’d played in riling Sam with talk of Carson
Arroyo’s motives. She couldn’t help smiling over the sound of Setha giggling and yay-ing on the other end of the line.
“I’ll be there today after work.”
“Oh, thanks, Av. We’re gonna have so much fun.”
“Right. Fun.”
“Oh…stop that and don’t worry,” Setha ordered and broke the connection seconds after.
The phone resumed its ring half a beat later. Avra laughed when she answered.
“Don’t worry, I won’t change my mind.”
“I hope not,” Sam said. “Aside from yes, that would be my second-favorite answer from you.”
“Keep dreaming. What do you want?” She rolled her eyes, attempting to ward off her reaction to the sound of his deep laughter rumbling across the landline. “What is it, Sam?” she insisted.
“Just calling to see if you want me to send a car to the Review after work.”
“Ah…” Avra stood from the settee. “Is this about Setha’s shower? The particulars of which you didn’t feel the need to share with me?”
Again, Sam chuckled. “Sorry ’bout that. Must’ve slipped my mind.”
“Humph. I can see how easily that could happen.”
Sam’s laughter was a bit more resonant in response to her dig. “Anyway, the ranch is pretty far out. I figured you might be too worn-out to make the drive after a full day.”
“Gee, Sam, I must say you continue to amaze me. I wouldn’t have thought you capable enough to come up with such a thoughtful plan.”
“I told you yesterday that I’m working to change your opinion of me.”
She’d been doing such a fine job of maintaining her stony demeanor, Avra thought. She coughed in reply to his mention of his office visit and a flashback to the kiss filled her mind for the second time that morning.
“I’ll be fine, Sam. I’ll drive my own car.”
“Mmm…in case you need to make an escape.”
“Something like that.”
“I would never force you, Av,” he said once silence held the line for a lengthy span.
She refused to ask whether he was referring to the ride he’d offered.
“So I guess that means you won’t force me on this trip to Kemah, right?”
“I’m not totally rehabilitated yet.” Laughter carried on his gravelly, deep words. “You can’t expect me to get rid of all my bad habits just like that.”
“Well, then here’s your chance to make progress.”
“I’m very stubborn, too.” He made a tsking sound over the phone. “Another bad habit to work on. Sorry, Av.”
“Such a jackass,” she hissed below her breath. “I’ll get my own ride.” She slammed the phone down on his laughter.
Not surprising, the ringing resumed again.
“Damn you,” she greeted.
Khouri burst into laughter then. “Hell, girl, I swear it’s too early in the morning even for me to be on your bad side.”
“Sorry, Khou…” she groaned, knocking a fist to her forehead when she heard her brother’s voice. “Just had a bad call.”
“So Dad got to you, too, huh?”
“No…what’s up?”
“I was calling to ask if you knew what this meeting was for.”
“Meeting? Today?”
“Ten a.m. sharp.”
“Damn.” The wall clock above her fireplace read 9:10 a.m. “Well…maybe it’s somethin’ good,” she hurriedly reasoned while collecting files and shoving them into her white leather valise. “How’d he sound when he called you?”
“Pissed. I’m guessing this ain’t one of those pats-on-the-back meetings.”
Avra stilled, thinking back to the tense conversation with her father the day before. “Guess we’ll find out soon,” she said, deciding against sharing the father-daughter discussion with her brother.
“See you there, all right?”
“Yeah.” She waited for Khouri to break the connection first. “Damn,” she muttered.
* * *
“Thanks for comin out, B. I know it was short notice.” Sam was shaking hands with Chief of Detectives Bradley Crest when the man arrived in his office at Machine Melendez.
“Not a problem.” Brad clapped Sam’s shoulder when they were done shaking hands. “I’ve been meaning to come out or call to check on Mr. Dan. He didn’t look too good when I left that day.” Brad’s blue eyes harbored a probing intensity as he removed his hat.
“It’s not easy for him to hear these murders are targeting his employees.” Sam tapped his index knuckle against the corner of his mouth as he thought of his father. “Man’s not as young as he used to be.” Something about the muttered acknowledgment struck a chord with Sam. Tugging on the cuffs of the shirt hanging outside his trousers, he went over to lean against his desk.
“Everything all right, Sam?” Brad worried the brim of his hat.
“Any new developments in this thing, Brad? Specifically, have y’all found any connections between Martino Viejo and the other victims?”
Brad bowed his head. He knew what Sam was really asking. “So far no links between Viejo and the address the others shared.”
Samson didn’t mind letting his relief show. He drew both hands through his dark straight hair and let out a sigh.
“The guy—Viejo—sure accomplished a lot in a short span of time.”
“Yeah,” Sam murmured with a grunt meant to be a laugh. “And I hadn’t even heard of him till he died.”
“From what we’ve gathered so far, he kept a pretty low profile but made a respected name for himself dealing with the public on behalf of MM.”
“Guess that explains why dad’s so upset over his death.”
“Makes sense.” Brad settled his lean, wiry frame into a chair. “Losin’ an employee that valuable…gotta hurt.”
Sam understood Brad’s point. For some reason he just didn’t buy it. He chose to keep that part of his opinion to himself.
“You still don’t have a lead into who killed him?” Sam asked instead.
It was Brad’s turn to grunt a humorless laugh. “All we know is who didn’t kill him. Whoever it was cleaned up very well behind himself.”
“Can you pin the other murders on Arroyo?”
Brad looked uneasy then. “None of this goes past this room.” His stony expression brooked no argument.
Sam only spread his hands, silently implying that he knew that better than anyone.
“Hell—” Brad threw up a wave “—this thing’s got me edgier than a deer in headlights. Whole thing’s a mess.” He pushed out of the chair he’d occupied and stalked the spacious scope of Sam’s office. “The leads we think we have all tend to crisscross and fizzle. We got absolutely nothin’ to go on ’cept an address no map or GPS can locate.”
Sam was back to massaging his jaw as he considered all the detective shared.
“Truth is—” Brad sighed “—we can only pin two of the murders on Arroyo—he was sloppy. Aside from the evidence we recovered, those murders pointed to him because they were so similar. The others…” Brad studied the stitching in the brim of the hat. “Once you toss in the similarities with the vics, nothin’ else seemed to fit.”
Sam frowned. “What the hell does that mean?”
“That either Arroyo switched up his style from sloppy to smart for three of the murders or there’s a second killer.”
The silence that settled then was only interrupted by the shrill ring of Brad’s cell. Less than a minute later, he was making his way out of the office.
Sam remained seated on the corner of his desk, deep in thought.
* * *
“Surprised to see you here, man,” Luc Anton greeted once he’d knocked on Danilo’s office door and strolled inside.
Dan shrugged, barely looking up from the papers he shuffled. “Important for the staff to be reassured given what’s happened.” He stopped with the papers and clenched his fists. “Tino’s death… It’s a huge loss.”
“And I commend your courage for being here,” Luc noted; his voice was soft yet the subtle hint of curiosity was there.
Dan heard it and smiled as he returned to sit behind his desk. “Say what you came to say.”
“What? I’m commending—”
“Luc.”
“Tino’s death could open up a can of worms wide enough to swallow us.”
“Martino Viejo was a good worker.”
Luc’s brow creased, adding more wrinkles to his weather-beaten skin. “And you think that means he didn’t keep certain reminders of earlier times? Let’s not forget that was how he rose so high.”
“He would’ve never resorted to blackmail,” Dan snapped.
“Are you serious? Or are you getting Martino Viejo confused with the staff or your sons who think the sun rises and sets with you?” Luc spat a soft, vicious curse. “You’re a fool if you think the cops won’t find something while investigating that kid’s murder—something that could put us all in trouble.” He raised a finger. “You need to get in front of this before it’s too late.”