Ranger Guardian

by Angi Morgan

  Exactly where his arm had been all night.

  “If last night hadn’t happened, how long would you have waited to tell me you were leaving?”

  “That’s not fair.” She swallowed hard and faced the counter—away from him. “I need to think.”

  Fair? Think? What about his life had been fair in the past six months? He’d said what he felt at the time, before thinking it through. Before realizing that it hadn’t been what he meant.

  He wanted Kendall to quit work when she wanted to quit. He wanted her only to be happy. As many times as he’d told her that before he’d left, she obviously hadn’t really believed him.

  Heath didn’t have words. How could they work with this hanging over their heads all day? He didn’t know what to do.

  The hell he didn’t. He was taking the day off.

  “You know, Kendall. I think this is the perfect day for Skylar Dawn to play hooky. Tell your mom she’s got the weekend off.”

  “You can’t—”

  “Darlin’, I can.” He left the kitchen, calling to his daughter. “Skylar Dawn, change of plans. Get your boots, darlin’. Let’s go see Stardust and Jupitar.”

  He got his daughter out of the house quickly by throwing a few things into her backpack and setting her on his hip.

  When she asked, he told their girl that her mommy wasn’t feeling well. It wasn’t a lie. He was pretty sure that Kendall felt real bad about springing it on him like that.

  Last night had been a natural reaction. Something neither of them had expected, but they’d both wanted it. Maybe she’d been conflicted. Maybe they shouldn’t have made love.

  He didn’t have the answers, and apparently neither did Kendall.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Are we really staying here all weekend, Daddy?” Skylar Dawn kicked the ribs of her pony to keep up with his mare.

  “Yepper doodles,” he said in a bad cartoon duck voice.

  She laughed. “And I get to ride Stardust every day? And not go to school? And I get to stay at the ranch house? And we get to order pizza?”

  “Yeppers on everything, but I think Mama Thompson is making the dough. Then you can make your own pizza in her oven.”

  “I can put as much cheese on it as I want?”

  “I’ll leave that to Mama Thompson to decide.”

  “This is fun, Daddy.”

  “Yepper doodles.”

  She laughed at him again.

  They’d gotten to the Thompson ranch early. He’d taken care of feeding the other horses and had let Skylar Dawn feed the chickens. The Thompsons had come to the paddock to say hello and get their order for lunch.

  Both adults had seen through his excuse that Kendall wasn’t feeling well. They told him several times they’d be hanging around the ranch all weekend if he needed help. They’d had a short, knowing look with each other, then Slate’s mom had told him she’d make all his favorites.

  “Is Mama Thompson my grandmother?”

  “Not really, darlin’. But she loves you like a granddaughter.”

  “I like it here.”

  By “here” she meant the Thompson ranch, large fields surrounded by trees that cut them off from the housing developments. A secret little stock pond full of catfish. Far enough away from the major roads a person couldn’t tell they were twenty minutes from the Dallas suburbs.

  He slowed Jupitar to a stop, letting Stardust have a little break. Tipping his hat, he shoved his hair back from his face. Maybe they should go for haircuts this afternoon. Or fishing. Skylar Dawn usually screamed and giggled at live bait, but she was surprisingly patient for an almost-four-year-old.

  Shoot, she’d be four in nine days.

  Skylar Dawn imitated him by taking off her little straw cowgirl hat, shoving her bangs back and securing it again on her cute little head. He’d been corrected more than once that she was a girl, not a boy.

  “Fishing or the barber shop? Which do you want to do after pizza?”

  He’d let Skylar Dawn decide. This was her day to play hooky and his to wonder about their future.

  “Pizza, then Mr. Craig at the candy shop.”

  The old-fashioned barber pole looked like a candy cane. He didn’t bother to correct her. It didn’t matter. How many days would they have like this if Kendall moved them to Portland?

  His wife would transfer, get the promotion she’d longed for. He’d have to seek out a new job in law enforcement. Go through more training, be reduced to rookie status—man, he didn’t look forward to that.

  Dad-blast it. He’d have to give up the horses. Moving them would be too hard. Paying for them even harder. His daughter was just getting the hang of riding, too. They were almost at the edge of the property.

  Where had the time gone? Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Skylar Dawn rocking in the saddle. This was probably the longest she’d been in it. No matter, he’d let her ride with him on the way back. That would help.

  “My, my, my,” she said, sitting back in her saddle like him. “Have you and Mother had another fight?”

  “What? Since when do you call Mommy ‘Mother’?” He knew the answer. His mother-in-law always said “my, my, my,” so this had to be her insistence on proper English. Never mind that. He needed to answer the real question. “Why do you think we had a fight?”

  “You’re acting funny, Daddy.”

  He guided Jupitar to face both Skylar Dawn and her little pony. What could he say to make her feel better? No lies. He refused to do it. But he also refused to make his daughter’s life miserable.

  “Hey, baby. Sometimes things go wrong. So, yeah, Mommy and I argued. But that doesn’t mean we don’t love you or each other. Remember that time you had a fight with Stacy? What was that about?”

  “Bumble. She said he had a stupid name. We aren’t supposed to say stupid in school.”

  “That’s right. But you still went to play at her house that Saturday.”

  She nodded her sweet little head. “You and Mommy are still friends, too?”

  “Always. No matter what.”

  “Okay.” She shrugged, pulling the reins to go around him.

  Dammit. No matter what happened...

  Friends, lovers, parents. They’d always be all of those things. There was nothing else to think about. He’d follow Kendall to Portland. He’d live with her or live next door—whatever she wanted. Not just for Skylar Dawn. He’d be there for his wife until she told him differently.

  “Daddy?”

  Heath wiped the bit of raw emotion from his eyes. Putting a smile on his face, he looked Skylar Dawn in the eyes. “What, honey?”

  “What’s that?” She pointed behind him.

  He turned in his saddle and saw a dust cloud.

  Dust? After all the rain they’d had last night? Not dust. Exhaust!

  “I don’t know, sweetheart.”

  Woah. Engines. The sound of all-terrain vehicles echoed off the stock pond’s built-up back containment wall. There were several of them. The Thompsons had only one.

  This was not good. Something was off.

  “Hey, baby girl, I think you need to ride with Daddy for a while.” He guided Jupitar next to Stardust, then reached down to lift Skylar Dawn. Setting her in front of him, he looped his left arm around her.

  “You’re squeezing too tight, Daddy.”

  “We’re going to go fast, baby. You like fast, right?”

  “Yes!”

  Excited, she grabbed Jupitar’s mane, ready to fly. Now if he just had someplace to go. At the edge of the property, there weren’t any back gates close by. Even if he had wire cutters in his back pocket, he couldn’t cut the barbed wire before those four-wheelers caught up with him.

  He kicked Jupitar into motion. The mud might slow down the men headed their way, but not his mare. She was a
s fast as the lightning that had cut across the sky in the early morning hours.

  “Hang on, baby!”

  He’d loped horses with his girl sitting there a couple of times, but not as fast as this. He tugged her to him even closer. There wasn’t any doubt the vehicles were following them. Thank God he knew what he was doing.

  Riding this land every day had him knowing just where to go. He could make it harder for them to follow. Lead them into small ditches that might be bogged down with mud.

  “Stop before you hurt your daughter!”

  What the hell?

  A gunshot pierced the sound of the galloping hooves. He couldn’t slow down enough to tell if they were really aiming at them or not. Mud shot up from Jupitar’s legs. The wind whipped their faces as the sun beat down, warming them. His mare darted to the right, causing him to rise in his saddle.

  Skylar Dawn screamed. “Daddy, slow down!”

  “I can’t, baby. I can’t.”

  Public Exposure! The information they’d obtained must have scared them into going after all of Kendall’s family. It was the only explanation. He hadn’t been on any major Ranger cases. No one was after him. It had to be Brantley Lourdes.

  “Haw!” he shouted to Jupitar.

  No use trying to get his cell out of his back pocket. Both hands were occupied controlling Jupitar and holding on to Skylar Dawn.

  If he could just make it back to the house...

  That’s when he saw another vehicle. He hadn’t turned around to see how many four-wheelers had followed. They’d split up, boxing him in.

  He could try to jump the fence, but Jupitar wasn’t a jumper. More likely, she’d dump them over her head by coming to a full stop. The vehicle got closer. Two hooded men rode it. One carried a shotgun.

  No choices.

  No options.

  “Whoa, girl.” He pulled Jupitar to a stop.

  “Daddy?”

  He might have halted, but he didn’t ease his grip on his daughter.

  “First things first. Toss your cell on the ground. Careful-like. Make sure it’s face up, and no monkey business.” The voice was full of authority and came from behind him.

  He slid his hand down the reins, lengthening his grip until he could reach behind him. He tossed it, forcing the man to get off the back of the ATV in front of Heath and pick it up. The man cracked the case, removed the SIM card and then threw it over the fence.

  Jupitar startled. He whistled to get her under control. The man with the shotgun jumped off the ATV and pointed it at the horse. No! Them.

  Skylar Dawn was between the barrel and his chest. There were too many, and he was unarmed. “Down on your own or we can pull you off of there, Ranger,” the guy behind Heath said.

  There was always the slim chance that the Thompsons had seen the ATVs come up the drive. A slim chance...but a chance nonetheless.

  “I don’t know who you are, but point the gun away from my daughter.”

  “There’s one way this is going to go. Mine. If you do as I say, we’ll be glad to point our weapons at only you. Now, get down,” the guy behind him directed.

  “I’m scared, Daddy.” kylar Dawn had a death grip on his arm. “Why can’t we see their faces?”

  “It’ll be okay, sweetheart.”

  “Only if you do as I say,” the guy doing all the talking said.

  “I can get him down,” said the one still straddling the ATV in front of Heath.

  “Come on, Heath, get off your high horse.” A second man behind him chuckled. “Listen to me, or I’ll have to kill you in front of your kid.”

  “Trauma does weird things to kids, man,” a third voice said from behind him. “Just look at all of us.”

  They all laughed and agreed. Skylar Dawn began to cry. He couldn’t turn around to see who was there. But looking toward the house, he could tell no one would come there in time to stop these men from doing what they wanted.

  No choices.

  No options.

  Unsure exactly how much his daughter understood, Heath switched her around to face him. “Hold on to Daddy, hon.” Her little hands latched behind his neck, and he kicked his leg around until it looped around the saddle horn. It was a tricky place to balance, especially with a small child.

  “Steady, girl,” he instructed Jupitar.

  His left arm held his shaking daughter—who was holding it together much better than he’d ever thought possible. The other held the edge of his saddle. He needed something. Some type of defense. His fingers searched for his rope.

  “Whoa there, partner,” one of them said. “Keep your hands where we can see them.”

  “I have to get down, right?”

  “Want me to get the girl, boss?”

  “That’s not necessary. Heath Murray is a champion cowboy. I bet he can slide to the ground from where he’s at.”

  Heath’s boots hit the ground, and his horse didn’t move. He was out of stall tactics, out of ideas. What did they want? Was it a ploy to scare him or did they—

  Stardust came into view, being led by yet another man in a mask. That made six he could now see. Three ATVs with two men each. None of them had identifying marks. No unusual clothing. He couldn’t even tell skin color. They either had on goggles, or the skin around their eyes was blacked out like superheroes on TV.

  “That’s right, Heath. You’re surrounded and have no options. Get her.” The main guy pointed to one of the men and then to Heath’s daughter.

  Heath wanted to back up, to run. But the leader was right. He was surrounded.

  “Hold on now!” he shouted and put Skylar Dawn’s back toward Jupitar’s neck. “Why are you doing this? What do you want?”

  “Hell, Heath. I thought we were pretty clear about that. We want your daughter. We made a special trip out here and everything,” he joked.

  “Whatever reason you have for doing this, just tell me. We can come up with some kind of a deal.”

  “A Texas Ranger like you? Married to an FBI agent? I don’t think so.” He pointed again—this time at the man holding the shotgun. “Shoot the pony.” The man swung the gun from Heath to Stardust.

  He tried covering his daughter’s eyes, but her little fingers tugged at his hand. She screamed. She twisted.

  “No! Stop! Daddy, don’t let them hurt Stardust!”

  The man pumped a shell into the chamber. It didn’t matter. He’d never drop his daughter. How could he?

  Three men got to Heath. Two tugged his arms. The third tore his now-hysterical daughter from him. She screamed, “Daddy! Stardust! Don’t you hurt them! Stop! Daddy! Help!”

  One man locked Heath’s arms behind his back. Another hit him. He threw them off. Tried to get to Skylar Dawn. She kicked and twisted herself and bit the man’s wrist until she wiggled to the ground and ran. Heath ran after her but was tripped.

  He fell, eating mud, as he yelled for his daughter. She was scooped up, her little legs still running through the air. Her hands in little fists beat on the leg of her attacker.

  One of the men kicked him in the back of his head. Then again in his sore ribs. White-hot light radiated through every part of him as he heard the rib crack on the second kick. He tried to get his feet under him, but again the toe of a shoe hit him in the side. He began coughing, unable to catch his breath.

  The ATV engines revved to life. He couldn’t hear his daughter. Maybe because they had gagged her, or maybe because a buzzing sound was shooting between his ears.

  One by one the engine sounds faded. He coughed, choked. He couldn’t see because of the mud covering his face. Could feel only the pain from his heart breaking.

  “Skylar Dawn,” he called.

  He wasn’t alone. Something moved through the brush close to him. One of the men was still there—their leader. He grabbed Heath’s shirt, dragging him to
his feet and hitting him. How many times, he didn’t know.

  The world was just pain. It was worse than being trampled by a bull. Much worse. The leader shoved him to the ground. Heath couldn’t move.

  “We’ll be in touch,” the bastard said over him. “Follow our directions or you’ll never see her again.”

  The third engine roared loudly to life and then faded across the field. Heath used his shoulder to get a bit of the mud from his eyes. He rolled, taking a long while to get to his knees.

  “Oh God.” He fought through the pain. Fought to stay awake.

  If he could just get to Jupitar. And then what? He tripped over something on the ground and fell hard, taking the brunt of the fall with his chest. He couldn’t scream. Couldn’t call out. Could barely breathe.

  His eyes focused on a small straw hat near his face.

  “I’ll find you, baby girl. And those bastards will pay.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Where is he? Come on, Heath. Pick up.” Kendall looked at her phone as if it had the answer. Then she dialed Slate’s number and quickly hung up when Jerry walked up.

  “Glad you could get here so fast, Kendall.” Jerry did a finger gesture pointing to her cell. “Is there something wrong? Having trouble with Heath?”

  “No. Did you find something on the thumb drive?”

  “Look, I was your partner a long time. It sounded like you were looking for your husband. Is he MIA or do you know where he is?”

  “I’m sure everything’s fine and he’s not answering because he’s knee-deep in muck at the ranch.”

  “Okay. There’s nothing yet on the encryption. I came over to see how you were and tell you that you’re needed in the conference room.”

  Jerry left but the creepy feeling didn’t as she walked to her summons. Something was wrong. People could call it whatever they wanted, but she just knew something was off.

  “Thanks for coming in, Special Agent Barlow.” Steve Woods opened the door to the conference room and gestured for her to sit. “Is Ranger Murray not with you?”