Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

Whatever Patrick had been about to share with Tex, the moment had passed.

After the interruption, Patrick had quickly finished his coffee and then stood. “Well, I’ve got to get back to work. I’m sorry to cut this short. But maybe if you have time while you’re in town we can get together again.”

Tex forced a smile, suspecting that wouldn’t happen. Despite that, he said, “That would be great.”

“I’ll text you.” Patrick gave him a nod. “And thanks for the coffee.”

Then, just as quickly as their meeting had started, it ended.

Tex downed the last sip of his own coffee and stood. At least he could get back to check on Chelsea now.

When he left the coffeehouse, surprise washed through him when he saw her car parked across the street.

She’d come downtown also? Where might she be?

The VW Bug was parked in front of a gift store. On a whim, Tex jogged across the street and peered in the window.

He spotted Chelsea near the register. She took a gift bag from a clerk and stepped back.

As she did, she glanced up as if she sensed someone looking at her. When Tex saw the fear cross her face, he instantly regretted it. He hadn’t meant to scare her.

A moment later, she met him outside, a look of confusion on her face. “Tex . . . I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“Same here. I saw your car and decided to see if you were close.” Tex paused. “How are you doing today?”

“I heard something.” Chelsea glanced around. “Are you hungry? Maybe we can grab a bite to eat and talk.”

The thought of doing so thrilled him entirely more than it should. “That sounds perfect.”

They walked inside the Ridge Runner Café, and the scent of bacon greeted them. He hadn’t thought he was hungry, but now that the tantalizing scents of fries and toasted bread floated around him like the spirit of Christmas temptation, all he wanted was to eat.

They were seated at a corner booth, and a friendly waitress named Debbie waited on them. He ordered a club sandwich with candied bacon, and Chelsea got a winter salad with cranberries and grilled chicken.

Once the waitress disappeared and as they waited for their food, Chelsea turned to him. “Well? Do you want to go first or shall I?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t have that much to share. Patrick was just about to open up to me when he got a phone call from work. They needed him back in the office.”

Chelsea frowned. “That’s too bad.”

“Tell me about it. Did you have more luck?”

“Maybe. I talked to the girlfriend of one of the football players. She suspects the team is doping and that they’re getting their drugs from Dr. Day.”

Tex raised his eyebrows. “I wondered about that possibility, but I hoped it wasn’t true. But we can’t prove it, and I doubt anyone on the football team will own up to it.”

Chelsea nibbled on her bottom lip. “Maybe. I’ve been thinking about it since my talk with Sofia. There is one kid on the football team who doesn’t tend to fit in. Every time I see him, I think he looks guilty—like maybe he knows what’s going on, but his conscience is bothering him. I wonder if I could get him to talk.”

He leaned closer. “You know what the stakes are, don’t you? There are people willing to kill to keep this quiet. If this is the conversation you overheard and someone now feels threatened, then that explains why someone broke into your home then later attacked you. I don’t think you should keep pushing this, Chelsea.”

Tex was honestly concerned about her.

He wasn’t sure if Chelsea would argue. If she’d insist she could defend herself.

But her gaze remained soft. “I know. I don’t want to get in over my head either. But I can’t look away. I have to do something. One way or another, this is going to end, and I don’t want it to be with me hurt. But I also don’t want it to be with one of my students being hurt.”

“I can see that.”

She raised her palms up in the air. “So what am I supposed to do?”

Before Tex could answer, their food was delivered. The sandwich and fries looked just as scrumptious as he’d imagined.

“Do you mind if I pray?” he asked.

Surprise—and approval—filled Chelsea’s gaze. “I would like that.”

He reached across the table for her hand, and Chelsea hesitated only a moment before slipping her fingers in his grasp.

He lifted up a prayer of thanks for the food and a prayer for wisdom as they tried to navigate this situation.

Half of him wanted to draw out the prayer a little longer just so he wouldn’t have to let go of her. But he didn’t do that. It wouldn’t be right.

However, as soon as he said amen and released her hand, he instantly missed the feel of her fingers in his. He lifted his sandwich and took the first bite. It was just as tasty as he’d hoped.

Before he could take his second bite, his phone buzzed. He glanced at it in curiosity.

When he saw the text message there, all the warm feelings he’d been feeling earlier disappeared like Santa on the day after Christmas.

Chelsea saw Tex’s face change as soon as he looked at his phone, and she knew something was wrong.

“Tex?” She put her fork down, kale and chicken still stabbed between the prongs.

Would he share? She wasn’t sure. Tex had always been private. Had anything changed?

He frowned as he stared at the phone again, and then he lowered it onto the table. After a moment of thought, he lifted it again and showed her the message. “I just got this.”

She read the words there.

I know what you did in Afghanistan. I’ll tell everyone unless you do what I say.

“Someone’s trying to blackmail you?” Her question came out louder than she intended, and Tex leaned forward and shushed her.

“That’s what it appears.”

“Who would do that?” she whispered.

His expression tightened. “I’ve made a lot of enemies in my day. A lot.”

“What does this person want you to do?”

Tex glanced at the screen again and frowned. “I’m not sure yet. I’m assuming he’ll send a follow-up message to let me know.”

Chelsea stared at him another moment, and then what was perhaps the most important question of all hit her. “Tex . . . what did you do in Afghanistan?”

As soon as she asked the question, she regretted it. She wished she could take it back. Because Tex’s whole face tightened, and his body tensed.

“It’s complicated.”

“I can understand complicated.” She didn’t know if she should push or not. It probably wasn’t her business. But now that the information was out there, she wanted to know.

“Let’s just say some of my missions required me to make some morally gray decisions,” Tex finally said. “At times it came down to saving the life of the men I worked with or taking out a bad guy. One decision. Two very different outcomes. And it was never an easy choice to make. But there was never a doubt in my mind that I had to protect my team members above all else.”

Chelsea’s heart ached. She could only imagine how tough those choices had been. Taking another life—even if it was that of an enemy—should never be taken lightly. It made her respect Tex more to know that he struggled with the decisions he had to make during the unofficial war he’d been fighting overseas.

“I’m sorry you had to do all that,” she finally said, picking at the rest of her lunch.

“It was my job. We were trained to do what we were told. Looking back, there were things I would have changed knowing then what I know now. My colleagues and I became something similar to robots to the people in charge of us. I do regret that, especially since I now know their motives weren’t always pure.”

“That’s got to be a hard pill to swallow. But it sounds like you’re in a better place now.”

A stormy look passed through his gaze. “I am. But to be honest, Chelsea, I don’t really exist on paper. Sometimes I’m asked to do assignments I’m uncomfortable with. If things go wrong during those assignments, there’s no one who will take up for me. My boss likes me to be nameless and faceless. In other words, disposable.”

She wasn’t expecting the tears to press on her eyes, but they did. But she tried to pull them back, to not show Tex how much his words had affected her. Most guys didn’t want people feeling sorry for them.

And it wasn’t that Chelsea felt sorry for Tex. It was entirely more complicated than that. She only wished she could take away some of his pain.

“It’s been better lately,” he continued. “We had some come-to-Jesus moments recently, and there have been a lot of changes. But I guess I’m still trying to find myself.”

“You could walk away from your job, right? You’re not locked in to working for this agency for the rest of your life, are you?”

“No, I’m not.” He paused. “The guys on the team have become like family to me, I suppose. We’ve been through a lot together. And now that we’ve had some changes, now that leaders have been honest about several things, it’s gotten better.”

“I’m glad for that, at least.”

She licked her lips and tried to find the right words. But before anything could pass over her tongue, horns blared outside. Brakes squealed. Someone screamed.

Then people began running toward the street as if something terrible had happened.