Free Cowboy Undercover by Alice Sharpe

he doubted any one of those alone would work on Block. But crafty and sneaky wouldn’t work, either. He decided on a mix of characteristics and knew he would depend mostly on luck.
    He parked the truck on the other end of the path he and Lily had used to escape and locked his wallet in the box with the guns. He wasn’t sure what he would find at the Block house and he didn’t want any ties to the Hastings name. What he knew was that going off to northern Idaho without knowing what Jeremy Block had already set in motion was too dangerous. Chance didn’t want to get blindsided but even more than that, he didn’t want Charlie caught in the middle of a situation where everyone around was armed to the teeth.
    Maybe Block wouldn’t be home. Maybe he’d gone after his kid. That would be good to know, as well, because if Lily got in Block’s way, she was toast.
    McCord didn’t show up at the gate so Chance marched up to the front door, punched the doorbell three times fast in a row with his knuckle and banged his fist against the dark wood. No prints in knuckles and fists. This guy was a DA with law enforcement ties and Chance did not want to leave any tangible proof of his identity behind.
    The door was opened by the woman Chance had seen come to the kitchen door to tell McCord that Charlie had disappeared.
    He took a deep breath. Showtime.
    Before she could utter a word, he pushed the door open with his shoulder and barged past her. “Where is she?” he demanded. He strode to the stairs and started to climb them, hollering, “Lily?” at the top of his lungs. Hopefully Jeremy Block was somewhere in the house and would hear him.
    A door behind him opened and Chance turned to see the man he’d glimpsed through the window “What in the hell is going on?” he demanded.
    “Where is she?” Chance said, coming back down the stairs. “I know she’s here.”
    “Where is who?”
    “Lily Kirk. She talked about you sometimes. Is she here?”
    Block cut him off with a barking laugh. “That woman is poison.”
    “Amen.”
    “And I should know, I’m married to her.”
    Chance allowed his expression to register surprise. He made a big deal of looking around the opulent surroundings and whistling low in his throat. “I knew she’d lived with you and all but she never said a word about being married. Brother, I can’t believe she ran out on all this. I didn’t know she was that stupid.”
    Block seemed to suddenly notice that the woman who had opened the door was still standing nearby. “For heaven’s sake, Janet, close the door and get lost,” he commanded. She did as he asked and hurried up the stairs, giving Chance a wide berth.
    “Just tell me. Is the bitch here or not?” Chance demanded.
    “Come into my office,” Block said. “Let’s have a civilized drink and discuss this.” Chance preceded him into the den. He paused to stare at the closet door he’d splintered two nights before. “What happened?”
    “Nothing important,” Block said but his teeth stretched tight over his teeth as though tasting something bitter. “What’s your name?”
    “Pete Reed,” Chance said, digging up the moniker of an old school pal. “At least that’s the name I’m using right now. My real name is none of your business.”
    “Why are you so angry with Lily?”
    “She stole two thousand three hundred bucks from me, money I had to get from a guy who is twice as mean as anybody I ever served with in the army. The dude almost killed me but I got what he owed me, I always do. And then that bitch stole it.”
    “You’re really mad,” Block said.
    “Hell, yes, I’m mad.”
    Block narrowed his eyes as though assessing what he was seeing. “How mad?”
    “Mad enough to make her wish she’d never met me.”
    “She has that effect on men,” Block said. “Have you ever done any time?”
    “Twice. Trumped-up assault charges. I was a little out of sorts after my discharge from the army. I’ve got a temper, I admit