“If you aren’t going to arrest me, then what are you going to do?”
“I’ll stay here and watch the ranch, protect you while I contact my team, and we’ll discuss the best way to keep you safe.” He just hoped his team and superior, Major Vance, would see things the same way he did. Their initial mission had been to stop Rio Garcia from coming across the border, but now they wanted to capture and arrest him. They had negotiated with the Mexican government to incarcerate him in the United States, but first they had to catch him. Brent had already failed miserably, letting the man get away in the past when he’d come so close to capturing him. He’d carried the guilt of that failure around with him, but finding Adriana might turn the tide in their favor.
Adriana paled. “It’s not necessary, really.”
Was she afraid they wouldn’t buy the alibi? Or was something else keeping her from accepting his offer of his team’s protection? “Of course it’s necessary. You can’t hope to face him and win on your own. You know as well as I do that he could be on his way here right now. If I found you, then he can find you, too. So I’m staying until we can move you somewhere you’ll be safe. End of story.” Or I could have led him to you.
“End of story? You need to understand that I won’t leave the ranch. I won’t leave the llamas or pregnant Kiana. I’ve been perfectly safe here. No one knew where I was until you showed up. So get it through your head, I’m staying right here. I can’t run from my brother forever.” Her voice trembled with her words of bravado. She hung her head, then lifted her gaze to his. “And, Brent, one more thing. I saved you from my brother once before, but I don’t want to have to save you again. So maybe it’s better that you let me fend for myself.”
“Not a chance.” Of course he wouldn’t leave her to fend for herself. What was she thinking? He wouldn’t leave her regardless. The Texas Rangers weren’t finished with her. Even though she hadn’t murdered Gunn, there were still unanswered questions about the drugs and money. Like where she’d hidden them. But one thing at a time. Brent chuckled, hoping to bring levity to the somber conversation. He was still monumentally relieved at the news of an alibi. “And I don’t think you need to worry that it will come down to you putting yourself in harm’s way again to save me.” He gave her a half grin. “Give me some credit, will you?”
And was rewarded with a soft smile. “I’ve never doubted your abilities.” Then she suddenly turned shy and stood. “I don’t know that anyone in this house is going to sleep tonight, but if you’re staying, I might as well show you to the guest room.”
“Now it’s my turn to say it’s not necessary.”
She gave a tentative grin. “Maybe not, but Inez will insist that you have your own space. You have to sleep sometime. You can bring your stuff in, if you carry a change of clothes with you.”
Brent nodded his acceptance of the offer. “I wouldn’t want to offend Inez.”
He’d parked his truck outside the entrance to the ranch and hiked in. It was probably about time to retrieve the truck and bring it closer, so he’d do that after Adriana showed him the spare bedroom upstairs.
Later that night, he peered out the open window on the second floor, letting the low-forties temperature cool his room as he watched for trouble. He might even set up some additional warning systems around the ranch, if he had time.
He held his cell phone to his ear, dreading the call he was making. He and Colt were on good terms again now, but they’d had a monster of a rough patch when all the evidence had pointed to Adriana, and only Brent had believed she’d been framed. Their disagreement over Adriana’s guilt had nearly destroyed their friendship. Although the guy had said he understood Brent’s need to find her on his own, Brent wasn’t sure how Colt would react once he heard the news that Adriana truly had been found.
When Colt answered, Brent started in, “Sorry to bother you on Christmas.” God, please help me. Please let Colt believe me.
“Hey, buddy, Merry Christmas to you, too. Is everything all right? Or are you just calling to ask about my day?”
Brent drew in a long breath. Colt knew him all too well.
“I found her.” His gut churned as he waited for Colt’s reply.
Silence met him. Brent held his breath.
Then, finally, Colt’s voice came through. “What did you say?”
“You heard me. I found Adriana Garcia.”
More silence met him over the connection. “Did you hear me?”
“Where is she?”
“Listen, Colt, before you get any ideas to the contrary, not only did I find her, but I have confirmed that she’s innocent of Greg’s death.”
“You want her to be innocent, Brent. You can’t believe she would be guilty because she saved you that one time. Don’t let that cloud your judgment.”
And he was so glad he’d waited to find the proof before he contacted Colt. Otherwise, they might go right back into their heated disagreement all over again.
“She has an alibi.”
“What is it?”
Brent explained about Inez.
“She could be lying.”
“She’s not.” Come on, trust me, man.
Colt blew out a breath. “So bring her in. We’ll question them both here.”
Why? Didn’t Colt trust his judgment? “That’s not a good idea.”
“Oh, yeah? Why’s that?”
Brent scraped a hand down his face. Listen to me, Colt. “It’s like I thought. Garcia framed her. He wants us to find her so we can lead him right to her. Gunn might not be the only law enforcement officer who Garcia bribed into working both sides. Bringing her in could put her in more danger.” Brent cringed. Had he really just brought Gunn’s crimes into this?
Colt hesitated, then said, “What’s your plan?”
“She stays at the ranch for now. We can protect her from Garcia here.”
“You mean, stake out the ranch and hope he shows up so that we can arrest him here and won’t have to extradite him from Mexico.”
“No, that’s not exactly where I’m coming from in this.”
“Figures.” Colt’s teasing tone came through the cell and Brent relaxed a bit. If Colt was teasing him, that meant he wasn’t angry. Maybe this time he really did believe Brent that Adriana wasn’t a killer.
“If he shows up, that would be a worst-case scenario,” Brent admitted.
“And yet, we want him for the crimes he committed. We want him for Greg Gunn’s murder and others. If he shows up there at the ranch, we can take him.”
Brent blew out a breath. This wasn’t exactly the way he’d wanted the conversation to go, but Colt was right. “Our mission here needs to be centered on protecting Adriana Garcia from her brother. I’m supposed to keep her safe, not use her as bait.” Except Brent knew Colt was right, too, had always known Adriana was the key to everything. But he didn’t have to like it.
“That’s up to Vance. Maybe you should have called him first.”
“You know why I called you first.”
“Yeah, I do. And I appreciate it, brother. And just for the record, I do believe you about the alibi. I trust your judgment. But you know you’ll have to clear all your plans to stay at the ranch through Vance. My guess is that whoever he assigns to protect her while watching for Garcia will take some time to get there. We just got some new intel tonight about where Carmen might be hiding.”
Brent’s heart jumped at the news. They needed to find their undercover Ranger and make sure she was okay.
“Some of us will be heading out to follow up on that lead. Until then, it’s just you. I’ll see if I can get there sooner. Are you good with that? Otherwise, you could just bring her in.”
Except Adriana would not leave her llamas, willingly, especially with pregnant Kiana ready to give birth any day now. Brent didn’t
blame her. “I’m good with that. I can hold out on my own for now.”
Unless Garcia showed up with a small army.
FOUR
Two days after Christmas, Ranger Brent McCord still made Adriana’s breath hitch when she spotted him in the distance, cowboy hat and all, checking the perimeter at the back of the property. But along with the surge of attraction she felt was a shiver of worry about him—he could easily be picked off by one of her brother’s snipers across the river in Mexico. Yes, she’d watched him donning a body-armor vest on more than one occasion, which made her breathe easier. But not too much.
She never would have dreamed a Texas Ranger would act as her bodyguard, let alone that the Ranger in question would be Brent McCord. After she saved his life, she’d doubted she’d ever see him again, and yet she’d held on to her private little crush inside—that much was obvious.
While he checked the perimeter, she would do some checking of her own. Besides, she could use the fresh air. She stepped out into the brisk day and pulled her jacket tighter against the cold that made her nose run and her eyes water. Checking on Kiana, she found the llama a good distance away and encouraged her closer to the barn. When it came time for the llama to give birth, Adriana wanted her to calve inside the walls that would protect the cria from the elements. And, well...if they were in the barn, then Adriana wouldn’t have to be vulnerable and out in the open, either. And wouldn’t that just be the worst timing if Rio decided to show up then! She was letting her thoughts run away with her. Still...
God, please let the birth go smoothly. And please let the Texas Rangers get here to help Brent. Let them end this once and for all.
Adriana couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to finally be free of any fear of her brother’s rage once and for all. The kind of free where thoughts of her imminent demise by his hand didn’t constantly linger at the back of her mind. The kind of free that didn’t cause her to panic when neighbors knocked on her door. The kind of free that allowed her to go into town and shop without worrying someone would recognize her as Rio’s missing sister. She feared he had his spies everywhere searching for her, even in the small Texas border towns. Hence, she went by Tanya, had changed her appearance and, for the most part, avoided interacting with anyone other than Inez.
She couldn’t afford even the smallest of mistakes—they could be deadly.
As she spent more time with Brent, one question nagged her. Was he here to not only protect her, but to go the extra mile because he felt he owed her for saving his life? She thought she’d seen something more in his eyes. And, if so, what did it matter? She was crazy to want there to be more between them than a common cause. And through it all she’d had this strange sense that they were two people who stood on opposite sides of a railroad track and were reaching across to hold hands, though a freight train named Rio Garcia was bearing down on them.
Her nerves remained on edge at the possibility of what she might expect in the near future once his Texas Rangers arrived in full force. Or would Rio beat them to it?
Trying to grasp the calm that eluded her, Adriana walked the fence surrounding the pasture where the llamas grazed. Though living on the ranch had brought her a measure of peace after everything she’d been through, maybe that tranquility had existed only in her head to begin with. Her deepest desire and need was to feel safe and secure, and she’d pretended she could have that here on the llama ranch. But now her eyes had been opened to the truth. Nowhere was safe—not as long as her brother remained at large.
Caring for the llamas normally soothed her, but not today. She should be working on halter training for some of the younger llamas in the herd even now, which was her usual schedule, but she couldn’t focus. It wasn’t fair to the animals, who needed her care and attention no matter the crisis that might be occurring around her, but she couldn’t change the way she felt. She was upset, her rhythm thrown off when nothing more had happened than the appearance of a Texas Ranger. Still, that should be enough.
She walked the outer edge of the fenced property and noticed a couple of llamas were thin, despite their thicker winter coats, and made a mental note to add some orchard-grass hay and grain to their feed, like she’d done with the pregnant Kiana, who would give birth any day now. Adriana wanted to call the local veterinarian but feared bringing in strangers. Besides, Inez had reassured her she’d assisted in llama births for many years and had never lost a cria or a mother. They would be fine.
The sun warmed Adriana, but a cool winter breeze gusted over her, chilling her to the bone. She let her gaze drop to the ground on the other side of the fence, tugging her jacket closer, and her eyes fell on one of her trigger wires just across the fence line. It wouldn’t do to have them inside the pasture because the llamas would trip them. So far, she’d kept the traps nonlethal and nonthreatening—just a warning. But with the very real possibility Rio would soon find her, she wished she could go back and replace every single one of them with something more powerful and totally illegal.
Currently, the wire did nothing more than connect to an air horn alarm, which had been the easiest thing for her to set up. Inez had bundles of fishing line, and all Adriana had had to do was order the rest of the supplies online. Eventually she had hoped to run the trip wire the entire length of the fence, set at the spot where the property line began, a few feet before an intruder could even reach the fence. The wire ran about eight to twelve inches above the ground and blended in with the landscape, so it wasn’t particularly visible, unless one knew what to look for. Once tripped, a supporting stick would then drop a rock onto the air horn and it would blast out a warning, possibly also disturbing the llamas, too—another added layer to the warning mechanism.
She followed the wire with her gaze as she walked, remaining on the inside of the fence, searching for the booby trap, and then she found it.
The rock was flat.
She sucked in a breath. She’d told Brent she’d stick close to the house; now she’d ventured to the property line and found the alarm had been triggered or dismantled. Before she let panic set in, she thought through the possibilities.
Perhaps an animal had triggered it—a raccoon or a skunk. Or a llama that had jumped over the fence and then come back in. Or the signal could have malfunctioned. Anger replaced her panic. But she needed to check that trap and see if she needed to buy another air horn. If it had gone off, then why hadn’t she heard the sound? She climbed over the fence and crept to the rock. When she lifted it, the air horn was gone.
The air rushed from her lungs.
Heart pounding, she jerked her head up to search the property. No animal had triggered this. Had this occurred after Brent had walked the property, or had he missed seeing it? Or worse...had he purposely disabled it? If so, did that mean he was working for her brother, after all? No, she wouldn’t believe it. She couldn’t believe it.
Please, Jesucristo, let it not be true.
Her breaths came fast. Suddenly realizing just how vulnerable she was, panic well and truly set in. She had to climb back over the fence and find and tell Brent. They could be in clear and present danger. She’d left her cell on the table. Idiot!
She’d climbed halfway over the fence when a voice hissed in Spanish, “Come with me now.”
Adriana’s knees buckled. She remained perfectly still, trying to decipher from which direction the voice had come. It had to have come from the trees outside the fence, but which direction?
“Did you hear me?” This time, the words came louder. “Do what I say, or I’ll kill your Ranger boyfriend.”
Brent! Oh, please, Jesucristo, don’t let them have taken him.
Images of what her brother’s cartel did to their enemies accosted her, and her legs threatened to buckle. But she forced herself not to cower so easily. No way could they have taken him—he was too well trained. That time in Mexico he’d come onto
their turf, but here, they couldn’t so easily take him without his putting up enough of a fight for her to have heard it and been warned.
This henchman wanted her to come with him and was lying about Brent. He rushed from the tree toward her, pointing his weapon straight at her. A scream lodged in her throat. She couldn’t speak. Couldn’t move.
Fear paralyzed her.
He grabbed her and snatched her from the fence. She hit the ground hard. Pain stabbed through her. The man straddled her, pointing the gun at her head and spewing words she couldn’t make out. But one thing she could comprehend—his sneer. He was pleased he’d caught his prize.
In her peripheral vision she witnessed a rock hurtling through the air. It hit the man in the head with a sickening thud.
The man cried out and fell off her. He groaned and tried to regain his footing.
Now! Adriana didn’t wait until he recovered.
This was her chance to flee. Who had thrown the rock? They remained hidden. She didn’t have time to search for them—had to get away or the man would snatch her again. She jumped over the fence, ran along the edge into a copse of trees farther down and lifted the bush that served as camouflage. There she found the hole she’d dug in the ground in case the day came that she needed to hide. That day was now.
She crawled into the hole, then let the cover with the bush drop over her.
When putting in her warning systems, she’d taken the time to create hidey-holes on the property. Places where she could quickly conceal herself in a desperate situation. That she lived like this—with the constant threat of being found by her brother—seemed surreal. That she was actually hiding in one of the holes now, also seemed surreal.
Texas Christmas Defender Page 5
