Page 77 of Dairy and Deadly

He towered over her with his hands on his hips. “It was sewn into the ribbon tied around the vase. Didn’t you notice how thick it was?”

Her heart plummeted. “I noticed that it was pretty,” she said faintly. She’d noticed it was sturdy, too, but not for the reasons he was thinking. The blue velvet was so thick that she’d used it to make a new collar and bow tie for Can Opener.

The collar!That was it. If Martin was telling the truth, then Can Opener had been wearing the zip drive around his neck since the day Martin’s flowers had arrived on her doorstep.

“Come on, Ashley,” he coaxed. “What did you really do with the flowers?”

The desperate light in his eyes made her shiver. “I don’t know what you expect me to say. You sent me flowers. I was dating someone else, so I threw them away. End of story.”

“It can’t be the end of the story,” he fumed, stomping away from her. “You know why?” He started pacing the narrow room. “Because what’s on that drive is the only leverage I have left to save your hide and mine.”

His impassioned declaration left her perplexed. “I’m not following you.”

He swung her way again. “If you hadn’t turned off your cop instincts like a light switch, I wouldn’t have to explain any of this to you.” Without warning, he slammed out of the shack. Moments later, she heard him roar off in his truck.

“Well, that was weird.” Caro slowly scooted her chair a few inches closer to Ashley’s.

“What are you doing?” Ashley tensed, expecting to hear a shot fired at any second.

“Getting these ropes off. Whatever you do, though, stay seated. I’m not sure how closely those snipers are watching us.”

To Ashley’s amazement, she produced a razor and sawed her wrists free. “How did you—never mind.” Clearly, Caro was a whole different caliber of law enforcement than she’d ever been.

Oh, who am I trying to kid?Ashley’s interest in law enforcement had been waning since the day she’d been hired as a farm hand. Her interest had faded even more after marrying Johnny. She genuinely enjoyed dairy farming. Beyond that, her next biggest goal was becoming a mother.

Caro reached over and sawed Ashley’s hands free next. “Hang on to the ropes. If Martin comes back before we escape, everything needs to look the same as how he left it. The key to our survival is making him believe he’s still in charge.”

Despite the direness of their situation, Ashley smiled. “Are you armed with more than a razor?”

“Is the sky blue?” Caro’s voice was lofty.

Ashley felt like kissing her feet.

Caro removed a miniature pistol from the hair piled loosely on top of her head. “This one’s for you.” She demonstrated the mechanics before handing it over. “And this one’s for me.” Another pistol appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.

“You’re a magician.” It was the only word she could come up with to describe the lovely federal agent.

“You have no idea what I’m capable of, and neither does Martin.” There was no emotion in her voice. “Being an FBI agent isn’t what turned me into who I am. An abusive marriage did. To hide it from the rest of the world, I learned how to apply theater makeup to cover everything from a black eye to a fractured jaw. I became the queen of subterfuge. After my late husband kicked the bucket, it was a skill set I rechanneled to track down some of the toughest criminals on the planet.” She cocked and uncocked her gun. “I never dreamed a certain cocky cowboy would limp into my life and see what nobody else has seen before. The real me.”

“Clint is pure gold.” Ashley didn’t see the problem.

“But he doesn’t have Johnny’s law enforcement skills.” Caro shook her head. “The moment any of the cutthroats I put behind bars tracks me down, he’ll suffer for it, and I can’t let that happen.”

“Clint can handle it.” Ashley was sure of it. “Not only is he one of the toughest cowboys I know, he has broad emotional shoulders.”

“It still doesn’t make it right for me to put that on him.” Caro fiddled with her weapon.

“Why don’t you let him decide that for himself?” Ashley knew what his choice would be. Another wave of nausea rocked her, making her dry heave. She clapped a hand over her mouth. “What an awful time to be coming down with the flu!”

Caro gave her a strange look. “I don’t think it’s the flu.”

“Do tell, Dr. Madison!” Ashley gestured for her to continue.

“You’re pregnant,” her companion stated flatly.

“You think I’m—oh!” Her hands flew to her midsection. Then she started laughing and crying at the same time. “You know what? That makes sense.” All the nausea and extra emotional stuff. Yep, it made perfect sense.

Caro scowled her into silence. “Get a grip, little mama, because you’re about to be a key player in our escape plan.”

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