No Turning Back

by H. L. Wegley

  “They will ask a lot of questions, Drew.”

  “Act concerned and mention the urgency, but not the drug cartels”

  He gave his mom the ranch phone. Drew pulled out his cell and sat on the bench. He looked up at Beth standing beside him. “Beth, how are you doing?”

  “Not good. This is all my fault.”

  “Hey, I’m the one who did the personal damage to Suarez.”

  “Because of me.”

  “This isn’t a time for arguing about blame. I need to call Agent Preston and tell him we could use some surveillance of our ranch. If an army is coming, the police won’t be enough to stop them. But, if they’re watching the area, at least law enforcement could warn us and maybe they could harass Suarez a bit to give us more time to get away. And maybe they can limit Suarez’s movement.”

  Mattie hung up the phone and turned toward Drew. “I called Julia Bancroft at Crooked River Ranch. She said to bring Mel and Coop with me to her house.”

  Drew looked up at Beth.

  She gave him a puzzled frown.

  “Julia’s husband, Steve, was a Ranger, Special Forces, a weapons sergeant. He’ll keep them safe. But I don’t think Suarez would find them there, anyway.”

  Mattie picked up the phone again. “I’m going to start calling all the ranchers. The kids and I will be safe. Just make sure you and Beth leave before the cartel can get here. And don’t leave a trail for them to follow when you head for the cabin.”

  She looked at Beth, then back at Drew. Mattie shook her head. “I don’t know what happened between you two, but fix it. Now. Life’s too short for this nonsense. Besides, you don’t want to go through what’s coming with any distractions. You can’t afford it. And you don’t want to have any regrets.”

  His mom didn’t say it, but Drew knew what she meant. You don’t want to die with unresolved issues between you and the person you love. If that happens, you die alone … or they do.

  Chapter 17

  Trucks, trucks and more trucks … with cars packed into all the spaces between them. That was why their big SUV wasn’t moving.

  Hector cursed the traffic, he cursed the dirty air of Los Angeles. But most of all, he cursed Mr. Drew West, because he was solely responsible for this excursion into the United States to right a wrong that had left Hector with a bad knee and a belly full of steroids that upset his stomach and spoiled his sleep.

  Maybe tonight, when they arrived in Oregon, he would be thankful for the steroids. It might be a long, vengeful night.

  His cell phone vibrated and played the Hawaii Five-0 theme. Ramon.

  “Yes, Ramon.”

  “Hector, I thought you would never answer.”

  “I am traveling. Out of my usual area. It takes time even for the best technology to track me down and ring my cell. Do you have news? This late in our game, it must be good news, otherwise …”

  “It is good news.”

  “Where are you, Ramon?”

  “I am on a hill about a mile from the Way West Ranch looking through binoculars.”

  “Way West Ranch? What kind of idiots would name their rancho Way West? Do not answer that. It was a rhetorical question. Just tell me, what do you see through those binoculars?”

  “Hector, how long have you been on those steroids? They seem to be making you—”

  “That is not your concern. Now answer my question, Ramon, or I will ask a rhetorical question about your short lifespan.”

  “Yes, El Capitan. I can only see a couple of horses. But there are a lot of small barns with other horses probably for the brood mares.”

  “What about people? Who do you see?”

  “No one. A truck drove away from the ranch when I arrived. But I don't see anyone outside. Maybe they went to the store or something.”

  “I am not hearing your good news, Ramon. Are you sure Drew West and Elizabeth Sanchez are there on West World Ranch?”

  “Way West Ranch, El Capitan. Yes. They are here. Some young men in town saw them a day ago. They said West was like a madman, loco. They say he beat the—how do they say it here—the living crud—but Mr. West beat it out of these three young ruffians for insulting Señorita Sanchez.”

  “I will keep that in mind in case we need to make Mr. West angry. Keep watching the place, Ramon. I should be there tomorrow evening, after dark. I am bringing friends.”

  “But we do not have friends, Hector.”

  “As I told you earlier, we do now. The Tijuana cartel will help us, because I am returning the favor. This is their area. Central Oregon. If I cause trouble here, it affects their business. So I promised to make it up to them, and they are helping me.”

  “This is only a single ranch with one family. How many men will you bring?”

  “I will have twenty of our own men and twenty from the Tijuana organization. We will have forty men to erase the ranch off the face of the earth and Señor West and Señorita Sanchez with it. Stay and watch, Ramon. Report anything that is unusual.”

  “You are bringing a small army. That is probably overkill for this place.”

  “For my enemies, there is no such thing as overkill, Ramon. There is only kill until it is over. And it is over only when all the people, all their animals, and all their crops are killed and everything they own is completely destroyed. It is over only when the earth bears no record that they ever existed. Comprende?”

  Chapter 18

  11:00 a.m. the next day

  “Drew, it’s not even noon yet. We did it in twenty-four hours flat.” They had done what Beth considered impossible. But people in horse country helped each other, as Drew had told her.

  “Yeah. It was so good to see that last truck roll down the driveway a few minutes ago. Mom and the kids are safe. It’s just you, me, Dusty and Sundown.”

  She couldn’t help but smile. “My favorite foursome.”

  Drew’s gaze met hers. “Even after day before yesterday?”

  “That’s just something we have to work on. Every couple has—” Beth stopped. A couple? She couldn’t believe it. She was talking like she and Drew were engaged or already married.

  He smiled. “Please continue, mi amor.”

  “You’re doing it again, Drew.” It was the first time anyone had used that term to describe Beth Sanchez. And it resonated in her heart far more than when her father called her his precioso tesoro.

  “Like you almost said. Every couple has some things to work on. Come on. Let’s carry these packs to the barn and saddle up. We made it with twelve hours to spare, but let’s get your favorite foursome on the trail early. We need to hide our tracks.”

  It only took Beth five or six minutes to saddle up Sundown and load her saddlebags. But what about their weapons? She glanced at Drew.

  He trotted down the barn to the storage room and emerged a minute later with two rifles, scabbards and some boxes of ammunition.

  So all I have to do is think about something and he gets it? That could lead to some interesting—

  No, girl. It means you can’t hide anything from that guy.

  “Here’s your rifle, Beth. Use the latigoes to hang the scabbard from the rings on your saddle. Don’t put it so far forward that Sundown can’t turn without her neck rubbing on it.” He paused. “You do know how to shoot, don’t you?”

  If only Drew knew. Her father taught her well, but those were lessons that would be better forgotten. They raised memories that were better buried. The problem was the events she and Drew faced could resurrect every one of those horrid memories.

  “I can shoot just fine, Drew. What are these? Lever action .30-30s?”

  “Yeah. They’re both loaded. And I’m bringing my Governor too. Actually, it’s Mom’s Governor, since that prosecutor in Pecos still has mine.”

  Five minutes later, Drew led the way on Dusty as they rode eastward down the driveway of the ranch. “Just in case someone is watching us, we’re starting out headed east.”

  “The opposite direction from the cabin
?”

  “Yeah. Before we reach the road, we can circle back through the trees.”

  “Drew, the trees don’t completely shield us if anyone is watching from one of the hills around us.”

  “They don’t. But I have some more misdirection up my sleeve, Ms. Sanchez.”

  “I like Beth better.”

  Drew gave her a warm smile. “So we’ve set the clock back thirty-six hours?”

  “You’ve got to start somewhere if you want to make things better.”

  “I’m not complaining. I’ve still got two of your ki—”

  “Don’t gloat or we’ll go back to the Rio Grande and—”

  “And your sexy swollen ankle?”

  “Exactly.”

  Before they turned off the driveway and into the trees, Beth turned in her saddle and looked back at the ranch house and the barn. Would they be there when she and Drew returned? Would she return? If she did, would Drew be with her?

  Things and people that were fast becoming part of Beth’s life, a life she wanted more than anything Beth Sanchez had wanted in a long time, were anything but certainties. Hector Suarez could wipe it all away in minutes.

  When one is battling evil of the worst sort, there are many uncertainties. But when the battle is with a drug cartel, there was one certainty. If you don’t completely annihilate the evil, it will find a way to kill you.

  Drew turned to the north for several minutes, until they reached a small creek that channeled irrigation runoff. They crossed it, emerging on rocky ground. Then Drew had them back their horses into the water, turn, and follow the creek for a quarter-mile. They left the creek on rocky ground, where they would leave few tracks.

  “We’re turning west now, toward the cabin. But, unless they have an expert tracker, I doubt they can follow our trail. They’ll have to find some other way of locating us.”

  “Drew, how will we hide the horses at the cabin? There’s no barn or shed.”

  “We have to leave the horses about a mile from the cabin. That’s why we brought our big backpacks.”

  “Will they be okay?”

  “There’s good grass along an irrigation ditch where they can water. If we’re discovered, and get into a foot race with anyone, we can try for the horses and use them to get away on the backroads and trails. This area is full of them.”

  “Do you have any idea how long we need to stay at the cabin, Drew?”

  “I’ve got my cell. It’s fully charged. I think we have to wait at the cabin until Agent Preston gives us the all clear signal.”

  “What if he doesn't?”

  “We'll have to play that by ear. These guys won't stay forever, will they?”

  “If they haven't found you, Drew, the cartel will stay. They will never stop unless all of us are dead. If they have to, they will stay until—how do you say it—until Hades freezes?”

  * * *

  Ramon stood at the pinnacle of the tallest hill he could find near the ranch. He held his cell to his ear and listened to Hector rant.

  “We are passing through the capital of this overcrowded state that cannot seem to patch its roadways. One would think California is on the verge of bankruptcy. I may also be bankrupt if we hit any more bumps. They jar my teeth and I will not be able to pay the dentist to replace my fillings.”

  “I think the steroids are doing a number on you, Hector.”

  “Doing a number? Is that some vulgar American expression, Ramon? If it is—”

  “No, Hector. I assure you it is not. Ees just that I remember being so full of prednisone that my face turned red like I had a fever. My head felt like a grenade after someone pulls the pin. I needed no sleep, and I would just as soon punch some hombre as to exchange words with him.”

  “So my detective understands that I am ready to explode. And I shall, Ramon, if I arrive at West World Ranch and—”

  “Way West Ranch, El Capitan.”

  “If I arrive at the rancho with the stupid name, and there is no Señor West or Señorita Sanchez, I will explode all over Ramon Vazquez. Where are they, Ramon? I must know before I arrive, or it will be an embarrassment to us. Luis Santana will begin to doubt us.”

  “Señor West and the girl rode away toward the east on two horses maybe two hours ago. They had heavy packs, and both horses had rifles on them. I think they plan to be gone for a while. I have not been able to spot them after they disappeared into the trees, but I have moved to a higher hill.”

  “You idiot! Someone alerted them. Was it you, Ramon? Did you say something to someone in the town?”

  “No, El Capitan. I said nothing about Señor West or the ranch. I mostly listened.”

  “Who else is at the ranch? A big ranch must have vaqueros.”

  “I have seen no one. Just the pickup pulling a horse trailer. It was leaving. I told you when I called about nine o’clock this morning.”

  Had they moved their horses from this Westworld Ranch? Only if there was a leak. Suarez would find the leaker and, whether the leak was accidental or intentional, the man would die.

  “Yes, you told me, Ramon. Now, I suggest you listen closely. I will arrive sometime around 11:00 p.m. It will be dark. If you have not found them by then, I will have no instructions for the men. I cannot burn the ranch and kill their animals unless I know where West and Sanchez are. We would be tipping our hand and could be forced to leave before we are finished. We would have spent a lot of money and taken risks all for nothing. Santana would not be happy. And Del Rio might end up fighting the Tijuana Cartel instead of punishing Señor West and the Sanchez girl.”

  “I will look for the horses, El Capitan. They will be easier to spot than people. And if I spot them, the señor and señorita will not be far away.”

  “You do that, Ramon. But you must find them before we arrive, or you will lose your usefulness to me. Comprende?”

  Chapter 19

  The ride to the cabin had been uneventful. It was 10:30 p.m. Over the past hour, darkness had enveloped the cabin and the thirty-six-hour deadline had elapsed.

  The frequent lightning flashes to the east indicated that monsoon moisture had worked its way into the state from the desert Southwest.

  Drew lit a single small oil lamp, then he stepped out of the cabin and studied the sky from the porch.

  The thunderstorms were too far away to hear them. Probably near Prineville, seventy miles to the east of the cabin, and the ridge to the east blocked any direct view of them. But lightning flickered across the sky every few seconds, creating a strobe-light effect as it lit the towering clouds above.

  It was an eerie and ominous display of power and light. Did it represent their lives? A flash of something promising snuffed out by the darkness?

  A loud crack and a piercing light almost knocked Drew to the ground.

  Beth ran out of the door and threw her arms around him. “Are you alright, Drew? That lightning was so close I thought …”

  “I’m okay.” He returned her embrace. “But what’s happening isn’t good.”

  “You mean that thunderstorm coming in from the west?”

  “Yeah. Let’s go inside.”

  She pulled him through the door and kept his hand in hers once they were inside. “Are we safe this close to the top of the ridge?”

  “We’re safe in the cabin. There are higher things all around, pine trees, the ridge itself, all better grounding points than this cabin. But the weather could get violent tonight. Usually, the monsoon moisture from the Southwest doesn’t make it to Oregon before late July or August. But it’s here. And the marine air from the Pacific is undercutting it. It’ll blow the lid off the tropopause.”

  “Are you a meteorologist or something? I thought you were a writer.”

  “I’m more like an ‘or something’.”

  “I thought writers were always either writing or thinking about writing. But you’ve hardly talked about your writing, except mentioning that you needed … uh, wanted me as your writing business manager.”
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  “I was on a writing research trip to Texas, to Big Bend country. But I couldn’t focus on my story, because I found a story that was more interesting.”

  “My story?”

  “No. You.”

  “You got writer’s block and you’re blaming me?”

  “No. I fell in love and I’m not blaming anybody.”

  Beth put her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. “But there is the reality of my story. It’s a part of me, Drew, an awful, frightening part of me. And tonight, it feels like it’s replaying.”

  “It’s not. I’m not your father, Beth. I didn’t try to drive a drug cartel out of its little fiefdom.”

  “No. You just ticked off the drug lord, which is exactly what Papa did. That was the catalyst that started everything that happened in Laguna.”

  “We’ve made our plan for dealing with Suarez. We’ve implemented it. It’s a good plan, Beth.”

  A loud crack sounded, and it shook the cabin.

  Beth’s arms nearly choked him. “I have bad feelings about this night, Drew. I—I need you more than ever.”

  “I appreciate you telling me, INTJ girl.” He smiled at her.

  She didn’t reciprocate.

  Someday soon she would be able to tell him that she loved him. But she did. Drew knew that, whether Beth used the words or not. And that was all that mattered.

  Another bright flash of lightning lit the interior of the cabin. The boom came about ten seconds later.

  “It’s a couple of miles away and moving to the east. Probably dying.”

  They stood in the center of the living room, arms around each other, listening.

  There was only silence. No distant lightning flashes. Nothing.

  Drew pulled his arms from Beth and hooked an arm around her waist. “Something strange is happening out there. Let’s open the door and listen.”

  Drew blew out the oil lamp.

  They moved to the door.

  He pulled it open, slowly, preventing it from creaking.