Thy will be done…
She was trembling all over when the plane finally rolled to a stop.
Owen gave a sigh of relief. “That was some ride.”
Bay felt Owen’s lips on hers and heard his laugh as he said, “You can open your eyes now, scaredy cat.”
She opened her eyes and reached out a shaky hand to grip the one he’d extended to her. “Thank you, God,” she croaked.
“I’m the one who landed the plane,” Owen said as he disconnected her seat belt. “How about thanking me?”
She was in his lap before he could release his own belt, her hands gripping him tightly around the neck, her lips pressed against his.
Safe, she thought. With this man I’m safe.
A moment later the door opened, and Clay stepped inside.
“Jesus Christ, Owe,” he said. “Why were you flying without engines?”
“Somebody sabotaged them,” Owen said. “Correct that. Paul Ridgeway sabotaged them.”
“He’s the brains behind the whole thing,” Luke said as he joined them. “He’s the one who stole the VX mines—and a lot more besides.”
Bay was still too shaky on her feet to stand on her own, and Owen lifted her into his arms and carried her out of the plane, with Clay and Luke on his heels.
“What’s wrong with Bay,” Luke demanded. “Bay, are you hurt?”
“Put me down, Owe,” she said. “You’re scaring my brother.”
“He’ll recover,” Owen said, hanging on to her.
Bay reached out to clasp Luke’s hand. “I’m so glad you’re safe. Why didn’t you ask for help? I was so scared for you!”
Luke looked sheepish. “Because I thought Clay was the one who’d stolen the mines. That is, until Paul Ridge-way showed up at that camp in the Big Bend.”
“Let’s get back to the cabin,” Owen said. “We’re too exposed out here. Have you got a cell phone?” he asked Clay. “Our radio was down, too. We need to call in the cavalry.”
“Uh-oh,” Clay said, as they all piled into the jeep, Clay and Luke in front, and Owen and Bay in back, Bay still in Owen’s lap.
“No phone?” Owen asked.
“I didn’t bring the plug to recharge mine, and the battery’s dead,” he admitted. “I never thought we’d be here this long. But the powers that be didn’t want us moving until they found you.”
“Surely someone’s checking in with you periodically, to make sure you’re okay.”
“The Justice Department knows where we are,” Clay said. “Hank contacted them before he went into the Big Bend for the last time, said he had a snitch who’d given him some information that might lead to whoever it was who stole those VX mines, and he was going to check it out. He wouldn’t name the suspect, but he suggested it was someone in the FBI office in Midland.
“The Justice Department contacted me because of my relationship with Paul Ridgeway, and off I went.”
“You could have told me,” Owen said.
“Sorry about that. The Justice Department said I had to keep the whole business under my hat.”
“How did you find Luke?” Bay asked.
“I convinced Paul that I should be a part of whatever it was he had going. He sent me off to inventory his cache, and I found Luke and all the evidence the Justice Department needed. But you were still missing, so they stashed us for a while.”
“How often do you check in with the Justice Department?” Owen asked.
“Every four hours. I missed my last call a half hour ago, so they’ll be sending someone to check on us.”
“Let’s hope they get here before Ridgeway does,” Owen said. “If they don’t, how are you fixed for weapons?”
Clay lifted a brow. “You’re expecting an armed attack?”
“Ridgeway knows you’re here,” Owen said. “Or at least, that this is where I thought you might have taken Luke.”
“The gun room is full of shotguns and hunting rifles,” Clay said. “We can protect ourselves.”
“At least you’re alive,” Owen said. “I figured we’d be too late, that we’d find the two of you dead.”
“You never told me that,” Bay said.
“I’m glad I was wrong,” Owen said, as he slapped his brother on the back.
“Why don’t we light out of here?” Bay said. “Why not keep on driving until we get somewhere safe?”
“We’re better off at the cabin,” Owen said. “The Secret Service put in all sorts of security to make it safe for presidential visits. There isn’t any place safer that we could get to in the limited time I’d guess we have.”
“So all we have to do is lock down tight and wait for the cavalry?” Bay asked.
“That’s it,” Owen confirmed.
Bay heard what he wasn’t saying. Unless Ridgeway gets here first. The big question was, how many men would Ridgeway bring along with him?
“How many—” Bay began.
“How many—” Owen said.
Both of them stopped, and Bay gestured for Owen to continue.
“How many men were with Ridgeway at the camp?” he asked Luke.
“The most I saw at one time was five guys, including Ridgeway,” Luke replied.
“I took care of two of them, so that leaves two men—probably the two who chased after us at the airport in Alpine—and Ridgeway for sure,” Owen said.
Bay breathed an inward sigh of relief when they arrived at the Blackthornes’ hunting cabin. It bore little resemblance to Paul Ridgeway’s rustic hideaway. This hunting cabin was two stories high and looked more like some kind of Southern mansion made of logs. It was also shrouded by shrubbery where the bad guys could be hiding. Bay glanced at Owen and saw he had a SIG in hand, and that his eyes were surveying the land around the cabin.
“See anything?” she asked.
He shook his head. “But this place could definitely use a gardener.”
She slipped off his lap and got out of the jeep. “I’m okay,” she said when she saw the concern in his eyes.
She turned to Luke as he hopped out of the jeep and gave him a hard hug, which she was surprised to feel him return. Her teenage brother was notoriously unwilling to be seen embracing his older sister.
“Are you okay?” she asked, releasing him and looking him over, frowning at the yellowing bruises and healing cuts on his face.
“I’m fine.” He reached down to touch her pinkened cheek. “What about you?”
“It’s nothing.” She slipped her arm around her brother’s waist and hugged him again, to reassure herself that he was real, and that he was really well.
When Bay entered the main room she saw most of the furniture was still covered by sheets. Two wing chairs had been uncovered and pulled up to the fireplace, which was where Luke and Clay had apparently spent most of their time.
She brushed a lock of hair away from Luke’s forehead, revealing a circle of pale yellow skin where a bruise was healing. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
“I got a little beat up,” he said. “But then Clay showed up—”
“And saved your butt,” Bay finished for him. She realized the twin brothers were standing side by side watching them, and that it was making Luke uncomfortable to be hovered over by his big sister. She let go of him, crossed to Clay Blackthorne, and held out her hand. “I want to thank you for saving my brother’s life.”
“You’re welcome,” Clay said. “If it hadn’t been for Luke, we wouldn’t know nearly as much as we do about Paul’s motives in this whole business.” Clay pulled the sheet off a brass-studded leather sofa that was centered on the fireplace and said, “Make yourself comfortable. It’s quite a story.”
“Before anyone gets too comfortable, I think we better check out our arsenal,” Owen said.
“Right,” Clay agreed, as they all headed for the gun room.
Bay had never seen so many guns. They lined the walls in glass and wood cases. “There are enough weapons here for an army,” she marveled.
�
��Unfortunately, there’s only the four of us,” Owen said, as he began opening gun cases and removing weapons. “How are you with a rifle, Red?”
Bay saw the speculative look Luke gave her at Owen’s use of the nickname and flushed when she realized Clay was giving Owen an equally piercing look. “I can hold my own,” she said, as Owen handed her a varmint rifle.
“We’ll keep shotguns handy at the front and back doors,” Owen said as he passed Clay two shotguns and two boxes of shotgun shells. “And rifles with us at all times,” he said as he handed Luke a rifle.
They spent the next hour making sure the cabin was secure, before they returned to the main room.
“I guess now we wait,” Luke said, as he slumped into one of the two chairs in front of the fireplace and settled one ankle across the opposite knee.
Clay took the chair across from him, a rifle across his knees, and exchanged a glance with Owen. “I hate waiting,” he said.
Owen sat on the arm of the brass-studded leather sofa. “So do I. Maybe you can fill me in a little more on how you got involved in this mess.”
“Sure,” Clay said. “The Justice Department suspected someone in South Texas was stealing a lot of mines from around the country, but they couldn’t figure out where he was holding them once they were stolen. Then Hank Richardson pointed a finger toward Paul’s office.
“I didn’t want to believe Paul was guilty, but when he came to see me during maneuvers to find out when the VX mines were being moved, and then the mines were stolen, I realized he was guilty, after all.”
Bay found herself reluctant to leave Luke’s side. She draped her arm across the back of the wing chair in which he was sitting and asked, “So why did Ridgeway steal all those mines?”
“He wants to mine the border between the U.S. and Mexico,” Luke announced.
“What?” Bay and Owen exclaimed together.
“That was my reaction, too,” Clay admitted.
Luke continued, “He wants to keep out illegal aliens like the vagrant who killed his daughter. He wants to make sure no other innocent will ever be killed by some desperate wetback coming across the border.”
“He really has gone crazy,” Owen murmured as he glanced out the window to make sure there was no movement.
“You have to admit,” Clay said, “it would make anybody think twice about illegally crossing the border from Mexico.”
They all froze as they heard someone at the door.
Bay saw the confused look Owen and Clay exchanged. It didn’t make sense for Paul to come to the door. But who else could it be?
They were all on their feet facing the door, rifles and shotgun in hand, when the lock turned and Jackson Blackthorne stepped inside.
Blackjack surveyed the arsenal of weapons aimed at him and demanded, “What the hell is going on?”
“I THINK THE BETTER QUESTION IS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING here?” Owen said. “How did you find out we were here?”
“I had no idea you were here,” his father blustered. “I came here to—”
“You’re meeting my mother here!” Luke interrupted angrily.
Owen exchanged a grim look with Bay, who also seemed unsettled at her brother’s pronouncement.
“I’m right, aren’t I?” Luke insisted.
“Not right away, I’m not,” Blackjack said. “But I did tell her to meet me here this afternoon. I can see maybe that wasn’t such a good idea. What is going on here?” he asked again.
“We’re waiting for Paul Ridgeway to come looking for us,” Owen explained.
“I need to warn Ren to stay away,” Blackjack said, heading back toward the door.
At that instant a barrage of bullets exploded through a window, shattering glass and thudding into the opposite wall.
“Get down,” Owen shouted, grabbing Bay and covering her body with his own as they fell to the floor.
Everyone else hit the floor at the same time.
“That’s supposed to be bulletproof glass,” Clay pointed out from his prone position on the floor.
“Must have been made to keep out a different kind of bullet,” Luke said. “It sure as hell isn’t working on these!”
“I have a VX mine with me,” Paul Ridgeway shouted. “All of you come out with your hands up, or I’m going to detonate it.”
“Is this a good time to tell you again that I love you?” Bay said quietly, as she stared up at Owen.
“Anytime’s a good time,” Owen replied, as he gently kissed her on the lips. “I love you, too.”
“Now that you two have that settled, how about figuring out how we can all have a long and happy life,” Luke said.
“Right,” Owen replied as he rolled off Bay and wormed his way over to Clay. “Do you think you can talk some sense into Paul?”
“I can give it a try.” Clay worked his way over to the window, stood with his back to the wall, and yelled, “Paul, you’ve got to give yourself up. There’ll be cops all over this place soon.”
“Not soon enough to save you,” Paul shouted back.
“Cindy wouldn’t want this, Paul,” Clay said.
“I’m doing it for her, Clay. She wouldn’t want another young woman to suffer the same fate as she did. Sacrifices have to be made for the greater good. Your deaths will ultimately mean saving a great many innocent lives.”
Clay made eye contact with Owen, shook his head, and whirled his finger in a circle to indicate Paul was crazy.
“Now what?” Luke asked.
“Maybe I can sneak out the back,” Blackjack said, “and warn Ren away.”
“He’ll have someone out back with a gun aimed at the door, Dad,” Owen said. “You’d never make it.”
“We have to do something!” Blackjack said. “Otherwise, he’ll detonate that mine, and we’ll all be dead anyway.”
“You should have stayed away from my mother in the first place,” Luke snarled.
“Luke, that’s enough,” Bay said.
“Just because you’re in love with one of them doesn’t mean it’s okay for Mom,” Luke railed.
“Why not?” Bay shot back. “You were quick enough to turn to a Blackthorne for help when you were up to your neck in trouble! What’s so wrong with the Blackthornes?”
“Hear! Hear!” Owen said, applauding her speech.
“You shut up!” Bay snapped at him. “I’m talking to my brother.”
Owen smiled at her, loving her every bit as much for her fiery temper as for her defense of his family. He couldn’t wait to make her his wife. Assuming they lived that long—and she agreed to marry him.
Luke wouldn’t let the matter rest. “Dad would—”
“Daddy’s dead,” Bay said, interrupting him in a fierce voice. “We should let him—and his hatred of the Blackthornes—rest in peace.”
“Easy for you to say,” Luke muttered. “What about Sam?”
“What about Sam?” Bay said. “He’s the victim of an accident.”
Owen’s brows rose nearly to his hairline. He’d never expected Bay to take his side where Sam was concerned. He was beginning to hope there might be a future for them.
His hopes were dashed in the next moment, when Paul Ridgeway shouted, “I’ve got Mrs. Creed. Come on out, or I’m going to kill her.”
Blackjack immediately stood. “I’m going out there. Maybe he’ll take me in exchange for Ren.”
Owen saw the astonished look on Luke’s face at Blackjack’s offer and the satisfied look Bay exchanged with her brother that said, See. He does love her.
“Stay where you are, Dad,” Owen said, as he rose to his feet.
“I should be the one to go,” Clay said, also getting up. “Paul knows me. I might be able to talk to him.”
“You’ve already tried that,” Blackjack countered. “It didn’t work.”
“I think we should all go,” Owen said.
Bay and Luke were on their feet now, as well.
“You want us all to get killed?” Luke said snidely.
&
nbsp; “With any luck at all, Paul’s only got two men with him,” Owen reasoned. “He’s certainly got one of them watching the back door—maybe both of them. There are five of us—too many for him, or even the two of them, to watch if we’re all moving at once.”
“That sounds like the kind of plan that can get somebody killed,” Blackjack said.
“I know what I’m doing, Dad,” Owen said. He pulled the SIG from where he had it tucked in his jeans at his back. “You’re going to provide the diversion. I’m going to shoot Paul.”
“He’s not going to let you get anywhere near him with a gun,” Clay said.
Owen saw the worry—and love—for him in Bay’s eyes as she asked, “Can’t we wait for the cavalry to arrive?”
“Paul isn’t going to give us that much time,” he said as he crossed to her. “I’ll be fine.”
“You can understand my concern,” she said, straightening his collar as an excuse to touch him in front of their male audience. “I don’t want to lose you now.”
“I don’t want to lose you, either,” he said, kissing her in spite of their audience. He let himself enjoy the smell of her, the taste of her, the softness of her. He planned to love her until they were both old and gray. He hoped things worked out that way.
“If you two are done professing your undying love, let’s see what we can do about not dying,” Clay said with a grin.
“Be careful,” Bay said as she smoothed Owen’s shirt across his shoulders.
“You be careful, too,” Owen replied, as he quickly kissed her one last time.
“Let’s hear this plan of yours,” Blackjack said.
“Here’s what I think we should do,” Owen began.
Once he was convinced that everyone knew their roles in the drama that was about to begin, Owen crossed to the front door and opened it wide. “We’re coming out,” he said.
“Come one at a time, your hands over your heads,” Paul ordered.
Owen came out first, the SIG hanging down his back, held by a shoelace that went around his neck. At the right moment, he was going to reach for it and hope his aim was true.
Clay came next, then Luke and Blackjack. Owen’s plan depended on Bay. She was going to provide the distraction. It had been her idea, one he’d protested. She’d convinced him she was the only one Paul was likely to believe might actually faint from nerves—even though anyone who knew Bay would laugh at the suggestion.
The Texan Page 29
