Lonestar Angel

by Colleen Coble

  She wasn’t either. “He’s not going to shoot me.”

  “One of his thugs nearly burned you up.”

  She bit her lip, knowing he was right. The situation was fraught with uncertainty. There had been no time to negotiate a peaceful outcome. There would surely be bullets flying. “I’ll call him back and tell him this won’t work. That he can send his henchman to pick up the flash drive instead.”

  “I don’t believe you’ll be safe until he and his people are behind bars. There is more going on than we know. He’s unable to control one of his guys.”

  “Escalating the situation won’t change that.”

  “We might bring down an empire today.” He leaned across and shoved open her door. “If I have to carry you to the porch kicking and screaming, I will.”

  She could tell by his face he was serious. Every cell in her body shouted for her to stay put, but she unbuckled her seat belt and slid out of the car. “I will never forgive you if you get yourself killed, Clay Larson.”

  “I’ll try to stay alive, Angel. Pray for me.”

  She slammed the door with all her might and watched as he pulled away. She stayed where she was until he turned and disappeared in a cloud of dust around the curve. The derelict house wasn’t far. She could walk there in ten minutes. But should she?

  What if her father really was waiting with guns? She’d feel better if she knew the Border Patrol was stationed around the property. Julia would know. Pulling out her phone, she called the judge, who answered on the second ring.

  “Eden, have you arrived?”

  Eden paced along the side of the road. “Clay made me get out and he’s gone on ahead. Is the Border Patrol there?”

  “We got lucky. Two agents were in the area and hightailed it over to hide in the barn. As far as I know, they’re there now.”

  Her stomach clenched. “Only two?”

  “There are more coming. But they won’t get there for another fifteen minutes. I’d hoped you’d be able to delay your father.”

  “Clay didn’t want both of us in danger because of Brianna.”

  Julia grunted in agreement. “I didn’t think about that. He’s right. You stay put and let him handle it.”

  “Where are you?” Eden asked.

  “At the courthouse, ready to throw them in jail.”

  “Call me when you hear anything,” Eden said. She ended the call and dropped the phone back into her purse. She automatically stepped off the side of the road when a car approached.

  Her heart sank when she recognized her father in the passenger seat. And three other men in the car with him. There was no chance to hide. They’d already seen her. The car slowed, then stopped beside her. The tinted passenger window rolled down.

  Santiago’s face was impassive as he looked her over. She could see her appearance here had thrown him off his expectations. “Father,” she said.

  “I told you that I doubt that relationship. Has your vehicle broken down?” He stared over her shoulder at the house behind her.

  There was no car in the driveway so she couldn’t confirm his guess. “No. My husband was unwilling to allow me to go. He was afraid you might harm me. He has the flash drive for you.”

  There was a flicker of his lids, then, “Get in.”

  The man on the passenger side behind her father opened the door, then slid over. She had no choice but to slide into the backseat. Her pulse throbbed in her throat. What was he going to do to her? The men all had guns. This didn’t look good. If she’d just done what Clay asked, she would have been up at the neighbor’s house. Santiago wouldn’t have seen her.

  The car pulled back onto the road as soon as she shut the door. The thick silence weighed her down. She wondered how she could get a message to Clay or Julia, but the man beside her would take her phone the minute she dug it out.

  The car turned onto the dirt road. Moments later Clay’s old family house was in sight. His black truck was there. Behind it was a silver Lexus.

  “Whose car is that?” Santiago asked, his voice sharp.

  “My mother’s,” Eden admitted. “I don’t know why she’s here.”

  The man grunted. “What does she want?”

  “I thought maybe you knew. She’s married to your brother.”

  “I have seen neither one of them in ten years. I would have preferred to keep it that way. Though I did appreciate her call the other day.”

  Was that his teeth grinding? Did he hate them that much?

  “Park here,” Santiago said at the end of the driveway. “I do not like the smell of this. What did you see when you examined the property, Carlos?”

  The man beside Eden shrugged. “It has been abandoned for many years. Other than squatters in the barn, there was no one here this morning.”

  “Very well. Drive in.”

  The driver turned into the lane and parked behind Clay’s truck. Half expecting Carlos to forbid it, Eden opened her door and got out. Clay straightened from where he had been leaning at her mother’s car. He froze when he saw Eden with her father.

  Eden’s mother climbed out of the car and stood watching Santiago. A moment later Omar did the same.

  “Mom, what are you doing here?” Eden asked.

  Nancy walked to the end of her car. “I knew something was going on so we followed Clay’s truck. We suspected we would find Hector here.”

  “What’s going on?” Clay asked.

  “I think I should be asking that,” Santiago said, slamming the door behind him. “I arrive for a friendly exchange and find this puta here.”

  Eden’s mother didn’t react to the derogatory term. She had eyes for no one but Hector. “Hello, Hector,” she said. “It’s good to see you.”

  He spat in the dirt, then glanced at his brother. “Omar, I would have expected you to have more sense than this.”

  “You owe us, Hector. Every other attempt to collect has failed. My wife didn’t have to tell you that these two have incriminating pictures of you. You should show some gratitude and pay your debts.”

  “I owe you nothing.” Hector motioned to his men. “Guard them while Eden and I conduct our business.”

  He walked back toward the barn. Eden and Clay followed. At the side of the house, Hector stopped and dug into his pocket. “This is the last photograph I have of your daughter.” He held out a picture.

  Eden took it and Clay peered over her shoulder. The little girl in the picture appeared to be about two years old. Blond hair. It had obviously darkened since then.

  There was not much time to study it before Hector held out his hand. “My property, please.”

  Clay pulled the flash drive out of his pocket. He dropped the device into the older man’s palm. “We’re square now. Did you succeed in calling off the person who has been targeting Eden?”

  Eden saw his lids flicker before he shuttered his expression. “I am working on it.”

  “Working on it? What does that mean?” Clay’s voice rose.

  “It has not been as easy as I had hoped.”

  Santiago turned to leave, but Clay caught his arm. “I need more assurances than that. Someone nearly killed her, tried to burn her alive! It takes a twisted monster to do something like that. Give me the name. If you can’t handle the job, I’ll do it myself.”

  Santiago stared at Clay’s hand on his arm, then glanced at his face. “As I said, I am taking care of it. It is not your concern.”

  “Anything to do with my wife is my concern. You might be fine with walking away from your daughter, but she’s my life. I won’t let any harm come to her.”

  Santiago raised an eyebrow. “You persist in calling her my daughter. Perhaps you should ask my brother how he came to be married to her mother.”

  Eden gaped at him. Surely he didn’t mean . . .

  “You appear surprised, Eden. Did you not wonder when they came here together?” He pulled out his wallet and removed an old picture. It was creased and stained and showed two young men squinting into th
e sun. The backdrop was a small village. “Can you tell us apart?”

  She studied the picture. “No.”

  “Neither could your mother. We shared her.”

  Eden recoiled. She wanted to clap her hands over her ears at such an ugly truth. “You’ve never had a paternity test?”

  He shrugged. “He married her. To the victor go the spoils.”

  “Why are they here?” Clay asked.

  Santiago’s expression of annoyance deepened. “You should ask them.” He walked away.

  Eden glanced at Clay and mouthed, “Where is the Border Patrol?”

  Clay shrugged and shook his head. They followed Hector back to the front of the house, where they found Omar and Eden’s mother surrounded by Santiago’s henchmen.

  Eden’s mother clenched her fists. “This is ridiculous, Hector!”

  He kept walking toward his car. “What is ridiculous is that you expect me to cave to your demands. I should dump you both in the desert.”

  Eden pressed forward to hear. She had to know what this was all about. It might explain why her mother had come back into her life after all this time.

  Clay restrained her. “Don’t get too close,” he whispered.

  “Half the business is mine,” Omar yelled at Hector’s departing back. “I demand an equal share. It’s what our father wished.”

  Hector turned with a stony expression on his face. “Both of you destroyed my wife. When I washed my hands of you, it was for all time.”

  What did he mean? Eden doubted he meant that they had actually murdered her. She watched the way her mother took a step back and dropped her head. Omar seemed to bear no shame.

  “She deserved to know the truth,” Omar said.

  “You sent her a photo of a child that may even be your own. All in a petty fit of revenge when you did not get your way.”

  “How was I to know she would go berserk?” Omar shot back.

  “She was fragile, hurt. You knew this woman”—he pointed at Eden’s mother—“meant nothing to me.”

  The history these three shared was becoming clear to Eden. Her picture as a child must have been the thing that had cost Hector his wife. No wonder he had so little regard for her. She should feel blessed that he had let her live. So far.

  30

  WHERE WAS THE BORDER PATROL? CLAY COULD ONLY ASSUME THEY WERE REMAINING hidden until reinforcements came. Eden looked shell-shocked. Hector was walking away. A few more seconds and it was going to be too late.

  “Hey!” he shouted.

  Hector stopped and turned back toward him. “What now, boy?”

  “I want your word that no harm will come to my wife.”

  “We have been over that. I will do my best.”

  Was that a sound from the barn? Clay wanted to push Eden to safety somewhere, but there was no shelter. No tree, no lawn chair, nothing but open yard. The house was too far and there was no door on this side. The growl of an engine came in the distance, then an SUV came careening up the dirt road with clouds of dust spewing from its tires. A van was right behind it.

  “Ambush!” Hector shouted. He grabbed Eden’s mother and, using her as a shield, propelled her toward his car. “Go, go!” he shouted to his men.

  But it was too late. The vehicles blocked the lane, and two agents brandishing guns erupted from the barn. Doors slammed as men poured from the SUV and the van. Santiago’s men brought their guns up. When the first shots were fired, Clay dived for his wife. His weight bore her to the ground and he covered her with his body. She didn’t struggle, and he could hear her breathing in his ear, a frantic gasping.

  “Were you hit?” he asked.

  “No.” Her arms came around his waist as more gunfire rocketed around them. “Can you see if he’s been shot? Or my mother?”

  Clay raised his head cautiously as the shots tapered off. “I don’t see anyone on the ground except the driver. They’re handcuffing Hector. I don’t see your mom or Omar.”

  When the men were all in custody, he rolled off Eden and got up, then helped her to her feet. Santiago’s glare held menace when he spotted them. Clay’s gut clenched at the hate in his face.

  Hector’s wrists were cuffed behind him, but he jerked away from the grip of the agent and took a couple of steps toward them. “You will pay for this. Enjoy your wife while you can. She will not be alive for long.”

  The agent grabbed his arm again and hustled him to the back of the waiting van. The other men were shoved into the vehicle as well. A Border Patrol agent walked toward Clay and Eden.

  “Everyone okay?” he asked.

  “We’re uninjured,” Clay said. “I wasn’t sure you were going to get here in time. Good work.” But he felt queasy when he remembered Santiago’s words. “When you question him, see if you can get him to tell you who has made several attempts on my wife’s life.”

  “I’ll do that,” the agent said. “These guys are snakes. Dispose of one and a dozen more show up.” He tipped his hat. “Appreciate your help, ma’am. We’ve been trying to get him for a long time.”

  Clay glanced to where Eden’s mother stood with Omar. “You got anything on Omar Santiago? That’s him over there.”

  The agent frowned. “Santiago’s brother?”

  “Yeah, that’s him.”

  “There is no warrant out for his arrest. If he’s been involved in this, he’s kept a low profile. We’ll be sure to question him and Hector both, though.”

  Eden’s mother came running up. “Eden, please tell me you had nothing to do with this ambush.” Her mouth was twisted and tight, and angry tears stood in her eyes.

  “He had to be taken off the streets, Mom,” Eden said. “And he sent someone after me. Someone who has tried to kill me.”

  Her mother’s eyes widened. “You did set this up! I can’t believe it.”

  Clay stepped in. “What did you expect her to do? Look away while this guy destroyed lives and ruined kids?”

  “But he’s her father!”

  Eden’s chin came up. “He says it’s more likely Omar is my father. Is that true?”

  Her mother glanced away. “That’s a lie,” she said, but her voice lacked conviction. “How could you do this to your own family? I’m disappointed in you.”

  Eden laughed derisively. “My family. You used me to get to Hector. You didn’t come back because you loved me and wanted to make amends. You thought Hector would agree to see me, and you could contact him that way.”

  Her mother met her gaze. “I did no such thing!”

  But Clay saw the truth in her eyes. Eden was right. This pair had used his wife. “Haven’t you put her through enough? Did you have to hurt her like this?”

  “How has this hurt her? She’s fine. Not a scratch.”

  “I was actually beginning to believe you,” Eden said softly. “I thought you’d really had a change of heart, maybe even found God or something. I believed you weren’t the same woman who left me on my own. Now I find that I was just a tool.”

  Clay pointed to the van. “And according to Hector, this isn’t the first time you’ve used her. What was all that about his wife?”

  Her mother started to walk away. “This is no concern of yours.”

  Clay caught her arm and turned her around to face them. “Let’s have the truth.”

  In the harsh light her mother looked older, drained. “Hector broke off ties with Omar when Omar told him we were going to marry. They argued. Hector said some hateful things about me.”

  “Like maybe the fact you weren’t welcome in the Santiago family?” Eden asked.

  “Yes. He called me names. We were desperate, though. Neither of us had a job, and we needed money. I thought maybe his wife would make him support his daughter at least.”

  The woman’s lies took Clay’s breath away. “But you’d already abandoned Eden by then.”

  The woman had the decency to blush. “Else didn’t know that. We thought she would make Hector do his duty.”

  Eden shook her
head. “No, you wanted revenge. You wanted to hurt Hector.”

  Her mother pressed her lips together. “He’s skated through life without a thought for other people. It’s about time he paid for some of his sins.”

  There was no getting through to this woman. She was blind to her warped character. “So you told his wife. What happened?”

  “The silly woman was hysterical. From what I heard, she took some pills and overdosed. To this day, no one knows if it was accidental or deliberate.”

  “She died?”

  “I have heard she lived but went a little crazy. I’m not sure, though.”

  The poor woman. Destroyed by this pair. “I don’t ever want you to contact us again,” Clay said. “Let’s go, Eden.”

  The agents were gone, leaving only dust in their wake. The acrid taste of betrayal clung to Eden’s tongue. She stood with Clay’s arm around her in front of the abandoned house. The wind rolled two tumbleweeds past their feet.

  “It’s over, honey,” Clay said. “We’ll go on from here. We have each other and Brianna.”

  The love in his eyes brought a lump to her throat. “I’m clinging to that. It will take me a few minutes to come to grips with everything she’s done.” She glanced back at the house. “Can we look at it in the daylight?”

  His grin came, tenderness in the curve of it. “Let me make sure there are no snakes in our path.”

  They went to the door. He kicked the pile of weeds out of the way, then shoved the door open. Sunlight streamed into the open courtyard between the outer entrance and the house. There were more tumbleweeds in the corners, but the hand-painted Mexican tiles on the ground were untouched. Their colors glowed in the sunshine.

  “It’s lovely!” She stepped onto the tile behind him. A mural was still intact on the back wall of the house. Eden studied the scene of cacti and distant mountains. Warm terra-cotta-colored paint on the other walls made her feel at home. Dead rose branches overran the trellis that covered a seating area. “Who painted this? I love it.”

  He stood examining the space with her. “I did. It was one of my early teenage attempts at art.”