“But I would only use my own money—money I earned working odd jobs, baking bread and creating handmade crafts to sell at market—not drug money to escape. And my money only took me so far. Everyone on the Mexican side of the border knew who I was. No one would help me. Everyone was scared to help the sister of Rio Garcia as she fled. I thought I would die in the arid region near the border as I worked my way toward the small llama ranch I’d learned about. It had been up for sale, and I dreamed of owning it.
“Seems silly now, that I headed in that direction when I ran, but I had nowhere else to go and it was all I knew to do. I finally crossed the river and there was no one there to stop me. Perhaps I could have gone to the American embassy, since my mother was American, but I feared that, even there, Rio had spies and informants. Besides, how would I even get there in the first place? As it happened, Inez found me, unconscious and dehydrated. She saved my life, and I owe her.”
Adriana gazed up at him from where she sat on the barn floor, her long neck exposed. Brent slid down to sit next to her. And dared to look at her. Moisture pooled in her eyes—she’d opened up to him, let herself be transparent and vulnerable. Why?
While he couldn’t understand her openness, he couldn’t deny that her words had touched his heart, stirring more compassion than he’d known he had. Funny that they would both end up here in this llama barn together. After two years of being grateful to her for how she’d risked her life and thinking of how beautiful she was, he suddenly found himself here, in a position to realize a forbidden dream—he wanted to kiss her. He wanted to take their emotional connection to the next level. It was all he could do to keep from threading his fingers through her hair and cupping her face while he kissed her. God, help me, I want...
But I can’t. What am I thinking?
It took all his willpower to shove the thoughts away and focus back on Adriana’s story.
She’d shared about her family, and that reminded him of his own—part of the reason he could never fully trust or let himself be vulnerable enough to love or be loved. He let the stern reminder that he couldn’t get too close to her wash over him, wash away the crazy feelings she stirred in him.
But maybe it was already too late.
“I’m glad you found me that day. I’ve always been indebted to you.”
* * *
Sitting so close to him, listening to his soft, compassionate voice, Adriana couldn’t breathe. Her feelings for him kept growing, and yet she knew that she—the sister of a drug lord—couldn’t fall for a Texas Ranger. It would never work. She hadn’t considered that opening up to him would strengthen their inexplicable connection. On the contrary, she’d thought if she told him about her life, he would be repulsed by her and that would drive him away. Force a wedge between them. Prove that they were much too different to be romantically compatible.
Adriana caught her breath. For too long, she’d wondered what it would feel like to be in his strong arms, tugged against his broad chest and held close just because he wanted her there. Because he cherished her.
It was a dream—and it could never be anything more than that. She couldn’t let herself hope for it, and she really had to pull back from him right now or she feared she would throw herself into his arms, her lips against his. A warm thrill ran through her, but she pushed it away. Brought herself back to her senses enough that she could distance herself from Brent. Break the moment before it was too late and they shared a kiss. She had a sense that one kiss would forever seal her fate to his.
“There’s no need,” she said, forcing coldness into her tone. “You don’t owe me anything. I knew I couldn’t let you die. I knew I had to act, and that set me into motion. First to save you. Then to run—and take the watch. The goal in the end was always to bring down my brother.” She couldn’t quite force herself to cap off the dismissal with the lie: it had nothing to do with you.
She started to get up and push away, but he grabbed her wrist, held tight and gestured for her to stay put. Why she complied, she wasn’t sure. She should have taken the chance to at least put space between them, but she didn’t.
“You’ve told me your story. Maybe it would make you feel better if I told you mine.”
“Okay.” Uncertainty edged her tone. Just why did he feel the need for her to know his past, his life? That wouldn’t make her trust him more than she already did. But it might make her care about him more. She wasn’t sure that was a good idea, especially as she listened to the deep tones of his rich voice.
He told her stories of his childhood, growing up in a suburb near Baltimore, that made her laugh and then cry a little. Oh, she wished he hadn’t shared so much of himself. She didn’t want to be tied to him this way. What was he doing to the both of them?
“So, you see, I grew up an only child. We were wealthy, like yours in the beginning. But in the end, it was all a facade.”
That made her curious. “Well, don’t stop now. I want to know what you mean that it was a facade.” Could it be their lives weren’t so dissimilar?
“My father turned out to be a criminal, too. Just on a different scale and with different methods. No drugs that I’m aware of. He ran a big corporation—was CEO of McCord Industries, which earned him a big paycheck. But that wasn’t enough for him. No. He had to have more and was tried and convicted for embezzlement, insider trading and worse—murder.”
She gasped at that. Held his gaze. The depth of pain that lingered there was profound, and compassion for him surged. And unfortunately, their connection deepened, at least on Adriana’s side of the equation.
Help me, Jesucristo.
“Murder?”
He nodded. “That’s right. Murder. He killed a man who tried to blackmail him. The trial, all of it, ripped our family apart. Before then, I looked up to my father. I dreamed of being like him one day. He raised me to be a businessman. Groomed me to take over the business someday, to follow in his footsteps. But after the trial that laid bare all of his crimes—aired all the proverbial dirty laundry that I hadn’t known about before—Mom committed suicide. And I couldn’t stomach even looking at the man I’d admired my entire life. His betrayal was too devastating for words.”
Adriana hoped he had forgiven the man. No matter what his father had done, Brent needed to forgive, for his own sake—to take that burden off his heart. And with that thought, she realized she had to work on forgiving her brother.
“I’m so, so sorry,” she whispered, feeling for the man beside her. Their lives weren’t much different, after all. Except that, as far as she knew, he wasn’t running from a family member who was trying to kill him.
No, Brent McCord had drastically changed his life. Had found a way to move on.
“So, how did you end up a Texas Ranger?”
He chuckled. “It wasn’t planned. I wanted to put as much distance as I could between me and my father and the reminders of the life that had been shattered. I dropped out of college for starters and moved to Texas. I’d become fascinated with the criminal investigation aspects of my father’s inquiry—yeah, I know, I wanted to put it behind me, but I let it propel me into my current career. I went to work in law enforcement in Texas, worked in the major crimes division of the Dallas PD before applying to the Texas Rangers. I hadn’t been with them very long before I ran into you.” He grinned.
Oh, why did he have to grin at her like that?
“So, you see, we’re not all that different,” she said. “I once looked up to my brother—who always protected me before—like you looked up to your father. We’ve experienced betrayal by a close family member who became a criminal. Only, your father is not trying to find and murder you.”
“True. Nor did I steal from my father, but if he hadn’t been investigated and I became part of the business like he wanted after college, I can see how things could have gone a much different direction. Mayb
e, like you, I would have cut some corners legally in attempts to take my father down, like you’re trying to take your brother down.”
She laughed. “Oh, now you’re reaching, totally reaching.”
He slowly leaned closer and took her hand in his, sending a current surging up her arm. “No. Now I’m reaching.”
Her heart bounced around inside. What did he mean? What was he doing? Adriana knew it was time to break both their physical and emotional connection.
She could easily do that by focusing on her brother. “Thank you for sharing your story, Ranger McCord. My legs are getting numb in this cold. I need to walk around. Now, what were we talking about before?”
If she’d hurt him, he shuttered it away. “We were talking about where your brother might go to hide or regroup. Where we can find him to prevent him from getting to you here, since you refuse to go to a safe house.” Frustration edged his words, though he still spoke in the same tender tones he’d used to share his story with her, like he...cherished her.
She shook off the unbidden thought and stood. This time he let her get up. Her heart rate slowed, if only a little. There. That was much better. Now she could actually breathe. She could think straighter when she wasn’t so close to him. “If you really think it would help, then I have a few ideas of places my brother might be found. I can’t be certain of anything at this point, of course, but there are a couple of places he might use to retreat and regroup.”
Brent rose to join her in pacing the barn. “Let’s hear it, then. Anything you can tell me will help.”
He’d shifted back into true Ranger mode, which relieved her.
“He has a favorite beach house on the Gulf of California. And there’s an old mission in Chihuahua.”
“Can you tell us exactly where these are located? We have an agreement to work with the Mexican police in our search for him.”
She nodded. “Tell me you’re not going.” Why had she blurted that out?
“Why?” His green-eyed gaze burned through her, searching for truth and an answer she didn’t want to give.
Her heart pounded so hard she was sure it gave her true feelings away, feelings she shouldn’t have. Feelings she would have to bury. “You know he would recognize you right off. I’m not going to share the exact locations until you assure me you’ll stay here.” With me.
That grin again. “That can be arranged.”
She was in so much trouble that had nothing at all to do with Rio hunting her.
NINE
The next day, Brent was anything but happy. Christopher and Ethan had left to go check out Adriana’s ideas regarding where Garcia could be. With Trevor already gone undercover again and searching for Carmen, that meant they were down to four at the ranch—Colt, Austin, Ford and Brent.
There was also the chance that their numbers might drop even further. Vance wasn’t satisfied with their waiting at the ranch for Garcia to show up. He might send one of their group off to chase a different lead. Maybe the drug lord knew the Rangers guarded the place and that was what held him off. They walked a dangerous, precarious line between wanting to get their hands on Garcia and protecting his sister from him.
But what if he also knew they were spread too thin today?
Someone could be off in the distance across the river, watching them and reporting in to Garcia. Brent and his fellow Rangers remained outside, watching the perimeter for most of the unusually chilly day. When Adriana brought him a mug of hot coffee, he wrapped his hands around it.
“You shouldn’t be out here,” he warned. “But I appreciate it.”
Her eyes lit up. “You’re out here because of me. What else was I supposed to do? Let you freeze?”
He chuckled.
But her playfulness turned to a grimace. “Seriously, it can’t be good for you to be out here in the weather all day.”
“I won’t lie. I feel the cold all the way to my bones. But I’ll live. I’m here to protect you, so I’m going to need you to go back in the house and stay there, Adriana. Just until our Ranger numbers are back up. Please. Don’t leave the house again. Someone could take you out or harm you from a distance. You do understand that, right?” Add to that, you’re too much of a distraction for me.
She nodded and started back.
“And, at any moment, feel free to change your mind and let me take you to a safe house.”
“I don’t want to be caged like a prisoner.” Adriana kept going and didn’t wait for his response.
He could understand that she hated being locked away even though it would be in a safe house, when it was her brother who needed to be incarcerated. But if she was imprisoned in her own home anyway, why not go to a safe house?
That evening, he switched out with Austin for a warm meal inside with Inez. What a strange little family they all were, gathered during the holidays for extenuating circumstances beyond imagination.
Refusing to be served, he ladled stew into a bowl. “This isn’t necessary, you know.”
“I know,” Inez said. “You keep telling us that, and yet here you are, eating the stew.” Her eyes crinkled with her smile, accenting her warmth-infused eyes. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Where is she?” Brent had hoped to see Adriana when he came to the house.
Inez gestured with her eyes to the ceiling above. “In her room, pouting, I think. She doesn’t like this prison of her own home.”
“I wouldn’t insist if there was another way to keep her safe. But now that her location is likely known, she’s too at risk from snipers to be walking around outside.”
“She understands, even if she doesn’t like it. We both see you’re here to protect us. I know you’ll do right by my Adriana. I think of her as my own, you know? When she first came to me, bruised and broken, and I cared for her, she filled a hole in my life. My husband has been dead for fifteen years. If it weren’t for the llamas, I would’ve had no reason to keep going, and then Adriana needed me.”
“Seems like you needed each other.”
Inez patted his arm as she chuckled. “You’re right. We needed each other then and we need each other now, especially since we’ve added poor Rosa to the fold. And we need you, Ranger McCord.” Inez pinned him with her gaze.
He suddenly felt the weight of his burden to protect these three women, the responsibility that he’d taken upon himself, made even heavier with Inez’s words and her serious expression.
He lowered his soup bowl. “You know to call me Brent, right? I spent Christmas Day with you, remember?” He grinned, hoping to add levity. “So I’d say we’re on friendlier terms.”
She chuckled. “I don’t disagree. But I called you Ranger McCord to remind you of that part of the equation. I’ll call you Brent now, since you brought up that you’re connected to our little family in a more personal way. I trust you to protect Adriana, even if that means you must take her from here. Do you understand me?”
“I tried that already. She won’t go to a safe house. Maybe you should be the one to convince her, Inez.”
The woman shook her head. “She’s determined to end this here at the llama ranch, I think.”
Brent stood taller, suddenly understanding better where this conversation was going. “But you don’t want that.”
Again, she shook her head. “I think her determination, her stubbornness, has clouded her judgment. And she doesn’t want to seem weak. I think maybe...maybe she wants to face off with her brother one last time. Face off with him and win. And that scares me, more than I can express. I don’t see how that could end well for her.” Sadness filled Inez’s eyes.
“Why don’t you tell her this? Tell her how scared for her that you are. She respects you and listens to you,” he said. “You have more influence over her than I do.”
“I have no
influence over her—she cares for me, but she is a grown woman who makes her own decisions. Tell me, Ranger McCord. Tell me, Brent, that you can keep her safe if she stays here. That you can keep us all safe. I sense the tension rolling off all of you as you come and go. This is no place to be when Rio Garcia shows up.”
“Inez.” Her words squeezed his chest. “If you can’t talk sense into Adriana, then you and Rosa should go to a safe house. Let me at least take you there.”
“Like I could leave her...” Tears pooled in the woman’s eyes.
“For Rosa’s sake, then.”
Frustration boiled in his gut. Oh, God, please help me to do the right thing. To say the right thing. Brent wanted to reassure this woman, but he wouldn’t lie to her. She deserved his honesty rather than false comfort.
Then Adriana suddenly appeared from around the corner, unshed tears in her eyes. She rushed to Inez and hugged her. When she released the older woman, Adriana looked at them both. “I’m sorry, I eavesdropped. I...I heard you talking about me and I couldn’t help it. I waited to hear what you would say. I’m sorry that I’ve been so selfish, Inez. You’re right when you say I want to end this standoff with my brother here at the ranch, but this has been your home for decades. I’m putting your home, you and Rosa in danger by staying. Forgive me.”
“There’s nothing to forgive,” Inez said and hugged Adriana to her again.
When Inez let go of her, Adriana glanced at Brent. “Take us to this safe house of yours, Ranger McCord.”
He grinned, glad they had finally come to an agreement. “I’m glad to hear that.” She had no idea how glad. “I’ll make all the arrangements. You ladies go ahead and pack a few clothes and personal items. The sooner we get out of here, the better. Please inform Rosa for me, too.”
His cell rang, startling them. He glanced at the display. It was Vance. “I have to take this call.” Perfect timing. He could arrange for transportation to the safe house.
Texas Christmas Defender Page 10
