Page 36 of Grave Peril

“Fair enough.” Rip rubbed his jaw. “So Ashlee was let go?”

“There are no charges against her. What else could Morris do? I heard he didn’t get much out of her.”

Rip put the pieces of the puzzle together. Ortiz couldn’t afford to give up his pursuit of Lela. And if he thought his best bet was Ashlee, he’d have her tailed. “Thanks, Axel. Do me a favor, will you? If you hear anything more about this case, call me.”

Rip handed over a burner phone, so any call wouldn’t be traced. “Use this phone. I can’t run around the city tracking you every time we need to talk. My phone is secure…just don’t call from home or the station.”

Axel smirked. “Yeah, you never know. Okay, I’m your man. I’ll keep my ears open.”

“And when I’m free, I’ll stop by for a real visit.”

Rip jogged back to the car, and Lela unlocked the door for him. “Well?” she said. “You were out there for a while. Was Axel helpful?”

“I’ll tell you when we get back to the hotel.” Rip wasn’t anxious to break the news to Lela that the senator had been harassing her friend.

Rip drove to the hotel and parked in the covered lot. He took Lela up to the room, and she promptly shed her disguise. “This hat is okay, but these contacts bug me. I’m not used to them.” She sat on the sofa and bent her legs underneath her. “All right, let’s hear it.”

Rip repeated what his brother had said, relaying it as matter-of-factly as he could, without emotion. If he took the news in stride, then maybe she would too.

When he finished, Lela stared at him. Then she rocketed up from the sofa. “That asshole Ortiz is after Ashlee now?”

“My brother didn’t say that. You’re assuming.”

“Assuming what? No, I’m not. Ash gets hauled in and interrogated. That’s no assumption on my part.”

Rip watched her. When Lela was angry, her cheeks flushed and her brown eyes were fierce. It was that Spanish blood; she could really get furious. He was glad that he wasn’t the target of her ire.

“Ash must be freaked out. Oh my God, hauled in for questioning?” Lela said. “She’s under scrutiny. Ortiz won’t let up. She works at his firm…Jesus.”

“It may not be as bad as you fear.”

“How do you know? Some seriously bad people are after me, so what’s next? First my friends, then my family.” Lela paced over the carpet. “I’m worried. What about my family? My mother…she’s by herself.”

Rip stood up and put his hands on her shoulders. “Take a breath. I understand your concern. Let’s do what we can.” He looked into her eyes. “Count to ten while I make a call. I’ll get some security for your mother.”

While Lela wore a hole in the rug, Rip called his boss. “I need someone to protect Lela’s mother. Yes, day and night. The cartel’s modus operandi is to go after the family. I hope that’s not the case, especially since there’s no way for Lela to be blackmailed…not as long as they don’t know where she is.” He added, “And ask Cooper to do a risk assessment on the mother’s place. We need it secure.”

Lela stopped pacing and sank onto the sofa, then put her hands over her face. “This isn’t good. Not at all.”

“Your mother will be guarded; she won’t be alone. Travis will make sure the security is discreet, so she’s not frightened.”

Lela uncovered her eyes, and her pleading look tore at Rip’s heart. “I’m glad, because I can’t even tell my mom what’s going on. She must be frantic about my disappearance. But if anything happened to her…”

“No one is going to hurt her.”

“But what about Ashlee?”

Rip didn’t get a chance to offer a bodyguard for her friend.

“She must be scared to death. She’s on her own, with Ortiz pressuring her. She doesn’t know where I am, or if I’m okay.” After a beat, Lela said, “I have to go to her.”

“No, that’s a bad idea.”

“I have to.” Lela glared at him. “She’s my friend. I’m not about to allow these bullies to harass her, or even go so far as to hurt her. I’m involved. I can’t just run. Or sit and hide. Not while someone I care about is being threatened.”

Rip shook his head.

“What would you do if she was your friend?” Lela stabbed a finger in the air. “I tell you what you’d do: you’d go to her, make sure she’s okay. And don’t tell me you wouldn’t.”

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