No One Heard Her Scream by Jordan Dane Read Free Book Online Page A

part of the case, but in her heart, she knew the truth. His dark eyes haunted her, dared her to dig deeper. The more Galvan eluded her, the more she dug, letting her stubborn streak get the better of her.
    A New Jersey driver's license and two credit cards went back six years or so. Prior to that, he was a ghost. Becca peeled away layer after layer, and still she couldn't get a glimpse of any pertinent history. His tax records might reveal something, but that would take time to retrieve and a warrant signed by a federal judge. For a person of interest, she didn't have enough reason to justify the intrusion into his background, so she remained focused on the data at hand. No traffic citations or warrants outstanding. She had already learned that his current vehicle was registered in the name of Global Enterprises, but so was his insurance. Nothing to trace there. And to add to her frustration, for every record she uncovered, Becca found a different post office box.
    The guy lived in plain sight but off the grid.
    "You're good, Diego. Real good. Did Cavanaugh finance your disappearing act or someone else? Top-notch stuff."
    After running his prints without a hit, Becca had been stymied. His lack of a criminal record surprised her the most. She felt certain he had spent some quality time at the gray bar hotel, maybe under a different name. A jaded cop's instincts. But she came up empty.
    "You haven't beaten me yet, Galvan," she muttered. "But I've almost got enough to pay a call on your benefactor, Hunter Cavanaugh."
    Still, a persistent question lingered in her mind. What was the purpose of Diego Galvan's warning against Cavanaugh? He had known who she was and staged the whole thing, right down to her late-afternoon addiction to cappuccino with cinnamon. A part of her hoped he might make an interesting ally, if it came to it. But she knew better than to be so gullible. In her line of work, trust had to be earned.
    Heading north on I-10, Diego Galvan watched the late-afternoon sun glisten on the surface of a man-made lake at the gated entrance to The Dominion, a prestigious residential area located northwest of San Antonio. Mist from a shooting fountain cast a rainbow across a bridge made of Cantera stone. A beautiful setting, but one he'd grown to resent. Seeing it meant he was twenty minutes from the private estate of Hunter Cavanaugh. He tightened his jaw as his stomach churned. No matter how idyllic the scene, he reacted with his usual conditioned reflex, like one of Pavlov's dogs at the ring of a bell.
    Get over it. You asked for this gig.
    On the last leg of the trip, vast ranchlands stretched across the interstate, bordered by mesquite trees, sagebrush, and miles of barbed wire. Cattle lolled by flowing creeks, with abandoned hay bales weathering in the sun—the hill country of Texas in all its glory. But as a hawk made lazy swirls in a cloudless sky, held aloft by an updraft, Diego found himself envious of the bird's freedom. It reminded him of the police detective who'd seen through his subterfuge.
    He knew by his outward appearance, most people would see affluence and success. The carefully orchestrated facade, conjured up by Cavanaugh, reflected more on him than Diego. Yet the colorful plumage of the rooster hadn't fooled Detective Rebecca Montgomery. Although he'd been pleased by her intellect, her honest insight had been an embarrassment. And he was to blame for that.
    "Very perceptive, Rebecca." Saying her name aloud summoned a memory of her face—spirited eyes, flawless skin, and lips that aroused his blood even now.
    Don't go there, Galvan. The woman deserves better.
    Jaw tight and eyes glued on the road ahead, Diego gripped the steering wheel of the Mercedes. He had taken the long way home, needing time to think. Rebecca's words stung like tequila poured into a gaping wound with a lime-and-salt chaser. If she hadn't been dead-on with her assessment, he might have laughed it off.
    "Looks like he's made a hefty