by Linda Warren
“Okay. Calm down. I have papers to identify the child, so we’re hoping the security guards will work with us, and the FBI is backing us up. Like I said before, just stay hidden until we get there.”
“Sometimes you’re an ass, Tom, and sometimes you’re a pretty damn good cop.”
“You got it, sweet cheeks.”
She gritted her teeth and clicked off.
“They’re on the way?” Levi asked.
“About an hour away.”
“Damn it. It’ll be light soon.”
Dawn flickered like a candle, bathing the Mexican town in a warm effervescent glow. Slowly, voices echoed and engines revved as the town began to wake up.
“Tom said for us to get as close to the border crossing as we could.”
“It will be difficult in broad daylight, especially carrying a baby.”
Daniel was asleep in Levi’s arms, the bottle empty. He was satisfied and that was good. Maybe he would sleep until this was all over.
“Daniel needs his diaper changed,” Levi remarked.
“We’re out of money and an hour is not that long, really.”
“We better move.” Levi stood. “This is part of a restaurant and they’ll be using it soon.” He handed her the baby. “We can’t be seen together. We’ll be spotted too easily. I’ll go first and you follow.”
She settled Daniel against her shoulder. “Where are we going?”
“To the border. Keep the bandanna on your head to throw them off.”
“Okay.” She forgot she had it on. He started off down the street with his long strides. “Do I whistle if I need you?”
He stopped and looked back at her with a glint in his eyes. “I’ll know where you are at all times.”
She gave him a thumbs-up sign and he grinned. Funny how one little thing could make her feel so much better even in a moment of crisis.
Even though it was early, people were out and about, getting ready to sell their wares. She could see Levi up ahead. He was taller than the rest and easy to pick out. Slowly and carefully they made their way toward the border. As she waited to cross a street amid a crowd, she saw the white truck coming toward her with two men in the bed of the pickup and two in the front seat. And she knew they were armed.
She immediately ducked her head and turned around, walking toward a shop that was opening. It sold sombreros, clay pots and everything imaginable, even liquor. A Mexican lady came from the back and Myra exited before she reached her. She had to find Levi.
“Looking for me?”
She swung around and Levi stood there. “You startled me.”
“The truck has moved on and we have to go.”
Her pocket vibrated and she held Daniel with one hand and fished the phone out with the other. Daniel thrashed about so she handed the cell to Levi.
“Okay. We’re about a half a mile away,” Levi said, and slipped the phone into his pocket. “We’re almost there. Are you ready?”
“Yes.” This time there was no doubt that Levi would get them across.
They started off again with Levi walking ahead. Daniel grew heavy in her arms and her muscles ached, but she kept going, trudging through the many people. The noises, the scent of tortillas cooking, the rapid chatter and everything else crowded in on her.
Levi came running back. “One of the trucks is at the road leading to the border crossing. They’re waiting for us.”
She shifted Daniel in her arms. “Now what?”
Levi pulled out the phone and spoke to Tom. After he shoved the cell in his pocket, he said, “They’re about twenty minutes out and are talking to the Mexican authorities. We have to wait or get across on our own.”
Myra could see the border entrance to the bridge. They were close, but not close enough. She hoped Levi had a few more tricks up his sleeve because, this time, Marco would not let them live.
* * *
THOUGHTS WHIZZED THROUGH Levi’s head. He didn’t have many options without the help of the Mexican authorities. How did they get past Marco’s men?
“Walk ahead and look at the stuff the vendors are selling on the way to the crossing,” he said to Myra.
“Where will you be?” She waved a hand. “Never mind. You know what you’re doing. I’m just nervous.”
“Go ahead. I’ll follow.” He didn’t want to tell her he was nervous, too. If they were spotted, Marco’s men would shoot first and not ask any questions.
Daniel was wide-awake and looking around at the strange surroundings. He seemed content. Levi hoped that held for the next few minutes.
Myra searched through the goods the Mexicans offered as they tried to make a sale before the tourists reached the border. Up ahead, the white truck had jumped the curb near the entrance to the crossing and Marco’s men waited outside, checking the cars as they went by. The other truck and crew were at the entrance as they waited for a signal that Levi and Myra had been spotted. There were Mexican police all around, but he was sure they wouldn’t be of any help. Some were probably even on the Mortez payroll.
Levi glanced at the people milling around the stalls and saw another truck identical to the others. Two men in the truck bed were slowly scanning the crowds. Marco had people everywhere. They had to get out of Matamoras quickly or they wouldn’t get out alive.
He spotted a young couple chatting over cheap jewelry. They couldn’t be more than eighteen years of age, and gullible, he was hoping.
“It’s, like, way too expensive, Amber,” the boy said.
“But it’s so totally cool. I gotta have it.”
“We’re supposed to be, you know, responsible and not spend money foolishly. Isn’t that what we told our parents?”
The girl rolled her eyes. “Sometimes you’re a total egghead.”
Levi walked up to the boy. “Are you from Texas?”
“Yeah. Corpus Christi.”
“I’m Levi Coyote....”
The boy laughed. “Do they call you Wile E. Coyote?”
“Not twice.”
“Oh.” The boy paled. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend.”
This was going to work, Levi thought to himself. The boy was a little unsure and nervous, yet respectful.
“None taken. As I was saying, my name is Levi Coyote. I’m a private investigator from Austin, Texas.” He thumbed over his shoulder. “The lady with the baby is Myra Delgado, an assistant D.A. in Houston. She’s holding a baby who was kidnapped from his mother in Houston. I was hired to find him.” He stopped for a moment. “Are you following me?”
“Hey, dude, it kind of like freaked me out when you said private investigator and an assistant D.A.”
The girl was listening closely by the boy’s side.
“Okay, I’m going to make this short. The people that kidnapped the baby are trying to prevent us from crossing the border. I could use your help.”
“Oh, wow, this is so cool. Like a movie or something. I’m, like, totally freaked.”
Levi did a double take at the girl’s enthusiasm. “This isn’t a movie. It’s real and could be dangerous.”
“Like with guns?” the boy asked.
He took a moment before answering, but he had to be honest. “Maybe.”
“Oh, sick. Like hero stuff. We gonna blow away the bad guys?”
What was wrong with today’s youth? He’d just told the boy this could be dangerous and he was all excited. Did kids fear nothing these days?
“What’s your name?”
“Aaron.”
“Aaron and Amber.” The girl singsonged the names over and over, waving her hands. “Isn’t that wicked?”
“Whatever. Listen, when you meet strangers and they ask something of you, you should really ask for ID.” He had no idea why he was tryin
g to teach them a lesson. He certainly had more important things on his mind, but something about their carelessness and naïveté bugged him.
“Oh, okay,” the boy said. “I’m totally on it. Do you have ID?”
“No, but I do have our passports.” He pulled them out of his back jean pocket. “You can’t be too trusting.”
“Are you gonna give us a lecture, yo? You kind of, you know, sound like our parents.”
“Here’s the deal.” Levi got down to business before his nerves snapped from pure frustration. “Can we borrow your car to cross the border?”
“Whoa, hombre, that’s over the line.”
Levi glanced at Daniel. “That little boy’s life depends on us getting him to Texas safely.”
“I’m cool with that. But, you know—”
“Aaron, look at that totally cute baby.” Amber linked her arm through the boy’s. “Your car’s a piece of junk, you know. Maybe he’ll, like, wreck it, you know, and your dad has insurance and you’ll, like, get a new one. And it will be, like, so romantic, just the two of us walking across.”
Levi shook his head. The parents of these two must be worried out of their minds, letting them loose on the world.
“Okay,” Aaron said. “You can use the car.” The boy looked at the girl and shrugged. “We’re cool.”
“Do you have a phone?”
Aaron laughed. “Sure. Doesn’t everyone?”
Levi didn’t respond. It took all of his patience to deal with these kids, but they were doing him a big favor, so he had to do one for them in turn. “I’m going to give you a couple of numbers in case something happens to the car.” He looked at his phone and got Tom’s number. “One is mine, the other is a police officer. I want to make sure you get your car back and want them to know what a brave young man you are.”
“Ah, dude, can you, like, say that to my parents?” Aaron tossed him the keys and, arm in arm, the two walked toward the bridge.
Levi turned to Myra. “Did you hear?”
“Yes. Unbelievable.”
“Let’s go. This is our last chance.”
Levi took the wheel, but he had to push the seat back to fit his long legs. Myra crawled into the backseat and buckled Daniel in with her. He cried until she kissed him and cooed to him. She was so good with the baby, the way she would be with her own kids. Why couldn’t she see that?
“Hang on,” he said, and started the engine. Rap music blasted from the stereo, loud enough to shatter the windows, and Levi immediately switched it off. Daniel started to cry again.
“No, no, it’s okay,” Myra soothed him. “It was just noise. It’s okay.”
While Myra dealt with Daniel, Levi shifted into gear and pulled away from the vendors. He didn’t want to get too close behind a car and give Marco’s men a chance to open a door. The tan car in front of him was almost to the entrance before he picked up speed.
“Here we go.”
He passed the truck on the curb and thought he was home free when he saw a Mexican waving his arms in the rearview mirror. “They spotted us. Damn it!”
Two Mexicans with guns stood in the road. “I’m going through. Hang on, and hang on to Daniel.”
“Levi...”
“Stay as low as you can.”
He pushed his boot down on the pedal and the car picked up speed. His heart pounded and he gripped the steering wheel, willing the two men to move out of the way. They didn’t. He kept driving straight for them.
Levi’s ears roared as he barreled down on the two. About twelve feet from them, one man dove out of the way and a split second later the other followed, except he came up shooting. Bullets pinged off the vehicle. Zooming through a Mexican checkpoint, Levi slammed on the brakes. The car jumped a curb and spun to a stop about six feet from a small building. That’s when all hell broke loose as all of Satan’s little helpers finally appeared.
Guns were pointed at him from every angle. Where in the hell were Tom and Steve?
“Are you okay?” he asked Myra.
“My heart is in my throat and Daniel is about to let out a scream.”
On cue, the baby wailed loudly.
“I’m getting out. Stay inside until we find a friendly face.”
He raised his hands and a security guard opened the door. “We have a baby inside,” he said in Spanish.
“Out,” he was ordered.
They opened Myra’s door and she was ordered out, too. But she wasn’t going down easily. “My name is Myra Delgado and I’m an assistant district attorney in Houston. This baby was kidnapped by his Mexican father from his mother in Texas. The baby is an American citizen.”
“Sí, señorita.”
“We have passports. Now if you will kindly let us through.”
“They’re in my back pocket,” Levi said, reaching for them.
A guard flipped through them and then handed them to another guard. He looked up from the passports. “The baby’s passport?” The man spoke English.
“We don’t have one.”
The guards conversed among themselves and Levi kept listening for the sound of a helicopter. They had no proof who the baby was. If Tom and Steve didn’t arrive soon, they would be arrested and taken to jail.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THEY WERE ESCORTED into a small building, and Aaron and Amber were there. Seeing the shooting, they probably decided not to walk over the bridge and instead wait for their car. When they tried to talk to Levi, the guard forced them back. Myra and Levi were led into a small room with a table and chairs. Daniel began to fuss and rubbed his head against her.
“I have to make him a bottle. He’s hungry,” she told the guards in English since they all seemed to speak the language. “His formula is in the car.”
“Señorita, there are more important—”
Daniel released a loud howl that stopped the conversation. “Please,” she begged, “he just needs a bottle.” She hoped it would calm him, but since he’d already had a bottle, she wasn’t sure. In fact, what she was doing was stalling for time.
The guard in charge motioned to another one and he left the room. Myra tried to soothe Daniel, but he wasn’t having any of it. Seeing Levi, he held out his arms for him.
“Hey, buddy.” Levi lifted the crying baby into his arms and he immediately stopped at the sound of Levi’s voice. “It’s gonna be okay. I know you’re tired and wet. Soon, though, you can go home to your mother. How about that?”
Daniel stared at Levi as if he understood every word and then let out another wail. Levi patted his back until he stopped. A guard came back in and handed Myra the bag.
She looked at the guard behind the desk. “Is there somewhere I can rinse out his bottle?”
He motioned to another guard and he took the bottle. After a moment, he was back with a clean one. Daniel saw the bottle and began bouncing in Levi’s arms and reaching for it.
“Hold on, Daniel.” Myra poured water in the bottle and worked as fast as she could. Giving it a good shake, she handed it to him and all was quiet as he sucked hungrily.
A female guard entered the room.
“She’ll take the child now,” the man at the desk said.
“The baby has been through a horrific few days and I’m not letting him out of my sight.” She didn’t know who worked for Marco or who didn’t, and she wasn’t taking any chances.
The guard folded his hands on the desk. “Señorita, you are not in charge.”
She looked him in the eye. “The baby stays with me.”
He stood, his dark eyes challenging. But before he could say anything, the door opened and Tom and Steve walked in. Tom made the introductions and laid papers on the desk in front of the man. “This identifies the baby, and the FBI is here to see that we take him back to Texa
s.”
The guard looked through the papers. “I have to meet with my superior.”
Tom glanced at Levi holding Daniel. “Damn, Coyote, I never thought you’d find that baby. Ol’ Stu was right about you.”
“Mortez didn’t do a very good job of hiding him because he thought no one here would touch him. Now it’s your job to get us out of here.”
“Yeah, but sometimes these officials can be hard-nosed.”
“You better find a way to unhardnose them,” Myra told him. “I’m dirty, I’m tired and I don’t have any patience left, so do your job the way you’re always bragging about.”
Tom held up a hand. “Cool down, Myra. This isn’t over. I’m just letting him think he’s in control.”
“You’re doing a damn good job of that.”
“Everybody calm down.” Steve joined the conversation. “We’ll take this one step at a time and hopefully we’ll find an understanding person.”
Two men entered the room. The new man was thin with a pencil mustache. He shook Steve’s hand. “We seem to have a problem, Mr. FBI Agent.” He spoke English, too.
“You’re not gonna complicate this, are you, Sergio?” It was clear the two knew each other and Myra relaxed a little.
Sergio went to the papers on the desk. “The woman’s and the man’s passports are in order, but there is the matter of the way they drove into the checkpoint parking area. We do not tolerate reckless driving.”
“We didn’t have a choice,” Levi said, rocking a sleeping Daniel in his arms. The peaceful picture seemed out of place compared to the danger they were facing. “Mortez’s men were after us and two were waiting at the entrance with guns. They fired at us. Speed was the only way to get in here alive.”
The man fingered his mustache. “I have only your word for that.”
“Give me a minute.” Levi handed Daniel to Myra. “May I go outside, please?”
Sergio nodded to the guard and he followed Levi out. Myra had no idea what he was going to do or how he could prove they had been in danger. In less than five minutes, he returned with a phone in his hand. He laid it on the desk in front of Sergio and pushed a button.
