The Ranger

by Angi Morgan

  “What...what did she say?”

  “She just wants you to call her when you have a moment alone, but she left a new number.”

  “Would you text it to me, Mom?” She was glad her mother didn’t know about Sadie’s betrayal yet. It was the only way they’d both stayed calm.

  “Sure. Are you all right, honey? Want me to come to the café? I could fix lunch for everyone.”

  “No, ma’am. They’re about to leave. I’ll be...I’m going to...to, um, the courthouse. They think I’ll be safe while they follow up on some leads.” She fibbed to ease her mother’s mind.

  “That’s good. You shouldn’t be alone. I’ll text this to you. Just let me know if you need me. I love you.”

  “Bye. Love you, too.”

  Brandie did feel alone. As much as she didn’t want to make decisions, that’s exactly what she had to do. Tell Mitch? Not tell Mitch? She couldn’t risk it. After they all left, she’d call Sadie and do whatever that horrible witch said to do if it would get her son back.

  “You okay?” Mitch asked. “I was just locking up when Beth said you guys were staying.”

  “That’s right.”

  “I’d feel more comfortable if I hung around, too, then.”

  “Honestly, you’re taking being in charge of me way too seriously.” She had to get rid of him. He’d never leave her alone long enough to make the call or allow her to meet Sadie. “Don’t worry about me and just go do your job. You are still a Texas Ranger, right? It certainly doesn’t seem like you quit. You probably lied about that so you could keep tabs on me.”

  “Brandie, what’s going on? Who were you talking to?”

  “My mother. See? You are not responsible for me. I take it back. I hate other people always making decisions for me. Hate it.” She raised her voice and shoved past him back into the dining area.

  “Not a problem. But I’m not falling for it. It’s too convenient. Let me see your phone.”

  “We’re friends, Mitch. You really don’t get it, do you?”

  “I don’t believe that you got a phone call and suddenly you can’t stand me.”

  “So now I’m a liar and don’t know my own feelings?” She had to hold it together. “See for yourself. It was my mom. No one ordered me to do anything. I just came to my senses. I don’t like all the looks and everyone assuming we’re a couple.”

  Mitch checked out her call history. Deep confusion was in his eyes when he locked eyes with her and returned her phone. “I’m sorry. I...”

  “Should have believed me?” She slipped her finger over the volume button and turned the phone to silent so when the text from her mom came through, no one would know. “I get enough of that at home.”

  The horrible implied meaning, accusing him of being like her father, was loud and clear to him. He stood straighter. Stiff. Lips flattened just like when he’d first worked for her and watched everything from a distance.

  Would he forgive her? If she came home with Toby, maybe he would. If she helped Sadie with drugs or guns...would he forgive her then? It went against everything he’d been working for his entire adult life. But she didn’t have a choice. She had to choose Toby even if she loved Mitch.

  She drew in a sharp breath at the realization of just how much she loved them both. They’d slowly become a family over the past six months. Mitch was everything she wanted. Nothing like her father as she’d implied. He’d proven that to her, even while doing his job as a Ranger.

  “I’m sorry, too. If I had cooperated yesterday we could have prevented most of this misunderstanding. You would have figured out it was Sadie before she came here today.” Remain strong. Don’t let him see how sorry you really are.

  She followed him through the door, standing in front of the café. The thing that had been all-consuming until a few days ago. She could lose the family business, but she couldn’t lose her family.

  “It was Andrea who put everything together, not me. Those women wouldn’t have been here to talk if you hadn’t kicked us out. I guess everything happened just like it was supposed to.” Mitch had a sad look in his eyes. “I know things aren’t right between us.”

  “I think Cord’s waiting on you.”

  “I just want to say that you’re, uh... You really are the strongest and bravest person I’ve met. You’ll get through this just fine and so will Toby. We’ll find him and I’ll be out of your hair for good.”

  He gently tugged her hand from massaging her neck. He kissed it, squeezed it and walked away.

  * * *

  “WHAT’S THAT ALL ABOUT? Isn’t she coming?” Cord asked in the truck.

  “Drive around the block and let me out back.” Mitch could tell when Brandie was lying. Her mom had called, but something was wrong. Brandie had changed after that.

  “You going to tell me why?”

  “You need to check on the Quinns or send a deputy. Someone might be in Brandie’s house, using their phones.”

  “You think Sadie was in touch with Brandie? I think she articulated exactly why she didn’t want you around.”

  “Articulate all you want. I’ve been around Brandie a lot of hours in the past six months. She’s lying. I just don’t know why.” Mitch felt her lack of trust like a knife twisting from his belly to his backbone.

  “I told you not to get too involved. It always complicates things.”

  “You told me not to get involved with a suspect. Brandie’s not a suspect.”

  “And that’s part of your problem, Mitch. You weren’t and still aren’t looking at the facts.” Cord stopped the truck on the back side of the garage. “Brandie’s given us plenty of reasons not to trust her, to doubt her story. We still don’t know how or why King was able to blackmail her.”

  “It was a legit reason to her.”

  “She told you.” He put the truck in Park, throwing an arm across the top of the seat. “But you aren’t going to tell me. Dammit, Lieutenant. I imagine ordering you to disclose the information won’t do me a hell of a lot of good? At least tell me if it’s relative to any possible shipment that’s—”

  “No, sir. It’s a private matter.”

  “You’re going to follow her?”

  “I’m burnin’ daylight, sir.”

  “Get out of my truck.” Cord lowered the window as Mitch shut the door. “Pete’s got a deputy posted to make sure she stays put. And Beth’s inside. Oh, and Mitch? I hope she is lying. You two are good together.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Mitch planned to follow Brandie when she left the garage. He assumed she’d get a phone call blackmailing her to do something questionable. Every part of his investigative ability told him that. His stubborn boss was bound to get herself into a boatload of trouble attempting to get her son back on her own.

  It wouldn’t take long. Sadie—or whatever her name was—had gotten to her. He didn’t blame Brandie for any of it. He’d do anything for Toby, too. Anything.

  Mitch heard car tires crunching the gravel lot and ducked to the edge of the building behind some used tires. If he followed in a car, particularly his car, Brandie would see it for miles. That left him with one choice. He had to get inside Brandie’s car, which was still parked in the garage.

  Luck was on his side that their argument had interrupted him setting the building alarm. He still had his keys. He snuck inside and then was at a loss how to hide his six-two body in the backseat of a compact car. Unless...

  Faster than he thought possible, he popped the hood, disconnected two essential wires and dropped his keys on the desk before running outside again. If Brandie was in a hurry, she wouldn’t think twice about borrowing his car. He unlocked the door with the spare he had tied under the frame.

  The sleeping bag and stuff they’d taken with them to King’s massacre was still in his car and easy to toss over him. He pulled off his jacket, balled it under his head and got as comfortable as he could on the floorboard.

  It had only been a few minutes when something tapped the side
of the car and he heard keys jingling. The engine purred as she gunned it a couple of times. Beth’s voice was outside along with a banging against the windows. “At least let me go with you!” she shouted as Brandie sharply turned right.

  Mitch should have removed the gun Cord had loaned him from the small of his back. Every bump the car hit jarred a part of it into his flesh. She moved the seat closer to the wheel, which gave him a little relief. He looked at his watch—five minutes and he should reveal that he was there.

  Wait. He needed to know that her phone call wasn’t with the kidnappers. His phone was already on silent. He slipped it into his palm, swiped open the camera, hit Record and squeezed it between the seat and the door.

  It took two tries, but he hadn’t seen her phone. She was completely absorbed in driving the car and looking in the mirror.

  “Deputy Hardy, you need to go back to town. We just crossed the county line and okay, that’s it. Yep. Head on home now.”

  Mitch hoped she was talking to herself.

  The car sped up and then slammed to a halt. The gun pinched, his legs cramped, his head shook but he kept his mouth shut and his body covered in case she was looking over the seat. He’d never thought of his car as small before. Now he did.

  “You can sit up now. Nobody’s around.”

  He sat on the seat, stretching his legs in blessed relief. “When did you know?”

  “My car was perfectly fine yesterday. And you would never have left your car keys on the desk.” She glared at him in the mirror. “How did you know I was lying?”

  “You have a couple of tells. Grabbing your neck for one. That’s something you do when you’re exhausted, though. The real tell is when you twist your mouth a lot.”

  “Okay, thanks. I needed to know when I meet the chess Queen. Now get out.”

  “No way.”

  “Seriously, Mitch. I can’t bring anyone with me. She’ll know.”

  “As far as she knows I’m just a mechanic. I’m not letting you go on your own.” Nope. He was with her for the duration. Period.

  “She was listening to everything in the café.”

  Mitch shook his head and leaned through the armrest between the front seats. “Not a chance. She’s lying. If they had been, she would have known about the drugs and that we didn’t have them. That’s just my educated opinion, of course.”

  “You know, I never asked for your opinion. I was quite happy in my life before all this started in my garage. Totally ignorant of drug smugglers and undercover agents.”

  “Not leaving the car.” He stared at her with his head cocked sideways. She could have injured him pretty badly if she’d used her elbow to hit his face. But she wasn’t that kind of woman. She didn’t react that way. Oh, wait, she had knocked him out with a lamp.

  Either way, it made him more determined to stay. She needed him. He could react quicker and before the thought crossed her mind that she was in danger.

  “Even if she explicitly said not to bring anyone?”

  He was staying. “What are we supposed to do?”

  “I have to call her and let her know I lost whoever they had following me.” Her hands flexed around the steering wheel. “I just want it all to end. Can we do that? Can we get my son back and get back to normal?”

  “Yes.” A pitiful remark bounced into his head. Something about how he was a little hurt that she hadn’t trusted him. The serious part of himself that he’d discovered since Cord had used the words daddy crush held him back. This wasn’t about him. They would get back to normal. That’s who they were.

  “Then let’s call the witch and get on with it,” she said.

  Before she had her cell in her hand, Mitch’s pocket was vibrating. “It’s Pete.”

  “Put it on speaker or you’re out of the car.”

  “Yeah?” he said, holding the cell over the seat back.

  “Great, you answered. Put me on speaker if you’re still with Brandie,” Pete said.

  “You already are. What do you need?”

  “We have an Alpine address for a Patrice Orlando and we’re ninety percent certain it’s the blonde we’re looking for. Her background and timeline fit. She travels across the border a lot. I’ve got an Alpine unit heading there now.”

  “She won’t be at her place. She told Brandie to lose the tail and call, indicating she’s sending her somewhere else. We’re just about to do that. I’ll mute my phone so you can listen in.”

  Brandie dialed.

  “It took you long enough. If you want your precious little Toby back with all his fingers and toes, then you’ll do exactly what I say. I need you to go to the border station in Presidio. When you arrive, you’ll verify that the four women who have listed you as their employer are telling the truth. Give them a ride to the post office.”

  “Will Toby be waiting for me there?”

  “Honey.” She stopped to laugh. “Toby’s safe for the moment. He thinks he’s at summer camp. You get those women to my contact and we’ll talk again.”

  Sadie, also known now as Patrice, disconnected, sounding confident that Brandie would follow through with whatever was commanded.

  “Those women are smuggling drugs, aren’t they?”

  “Most likely.” He adjusted the phone between them. “Did you catch all that, Beth?”

  “Yes. Brandie, do exactly what she says. I’ve got this end covered. There will be DEA agents there to follow those women. You won’t be breaking the law, you’ll be helping us.”

  “She’ll probably have someone watching me once I get to Presidio. I should drop Mitch—”

  “I’m staying.”

  “That’s ridiculous. Are the women going to sit on top of you?”

  “We’ll have the building covered,” Beth said. “Brandie, drop him off a couple of blocks from the post office.”

  “Mind if I ride up front?”

  “Sure. I even promise not to leave you on the side of the road.”

  He was in and out of the car faster than a speeding bullet. “This is weird for me, you know.”

  “What?”

  “I’ve never ridden in this seat before or in the backseat for that matter.”

  “Well, you can’t drive to—”

  “It’s fine. Just...different.” Mitch stretched out.

  “You should put your seat belt on. You can never tell if aliens will be landing on the highway. Or a deer. Be safe.”

  “So, do a lot of aliens land in broad daylight?” He buckled up whether he thought he needed to or not. It made her happy. And he liked cheering her up a bit.

  “Well, they are more likely to land at night, I’ll give you that. Do you have any sunglasses?”

  “No, but I do have some very expensive shades.” He took the case from the glove compartment, wiped the lenses with the cloth he kept them wrapped inside and handed them to her.

  “Nice. They really cut the glare. Why don’t you wear these all the time? Instead of the ten-dollar pair you usually have.”

  “We’re closing in on Patrice Orlando because of her shoes. I didn’t think that a two-hundred-dollar pair of shades fit my nomad mechanic background.”

  “Smart, but I might just steal these.”

  “I’ll buy you your own pair.” He could. He’d been collecting a paycheck for almost three years with no expenses.

  She swished her head quickly to the side and the glasses slid down her nose. Instead of the cute O-shaped lips he thought he’d see, she scrunched up her nose to stop their descent.

  “You will not spend that kind of money on me for a pair of sunglasses.”

  “But you like them.”

  She shook her head and her free hand shot up behind her neck. “Stop kidding around and tell me what I need to know when we get to Presidio. You have about forty minutes to turn me into a secret agent.”

  He stared at her, surprised by how her words affected him. She’d probably meant it to be funny. But he was suddenly frightened like he’d never been before. He
’d had years of driving highways by himself, pulling over drunks or drug dealers. He’d been cautious but not frightened.

  The thought that Brandie would be in the middle of everything. That she’d run into any type of fight to protect Toby at any cost... The thought of losing either one of them chilled him to his marrow.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Mitch had talked for the entire drive, and Brandie had listened. He explained that he knew Presidio, having been on assignment there last fall. They’d taken side street after side street until he’d pointed her back in the right direction. With one turn she’d have a straight shot back to the main road. He was about to be on foot four blocks away from the post office, but said he’d be there in plenty of time to make sure her drop-off went smoothly.

  “If you act too calm, then whoever’s watching you is going to get suspicious,” Mitch told her with his hand on the handle ready to jump from the car. “Remember, there’s a company of Texas Rangers looking for Toby. Along with troopers, deputies and everyone else they can snag. You do your part here and we’ve got your back.”

  “Andrea is really imposing on her father?” Brandie shook her head, still unable to process what they were all doing for her. “I can’t believe she asked Homeland Security to track down Sadie’s—I mean, Patrice Orlando’s possible family or other real estate. I know everything’s being done that can be done.”

  “I know you probably meant what you said in the café. I’m not trying to be a dictator. What I’m trying to do—”

  “Is save my life and get Toby back.” She covered his cheek with her hand, and he leaned into her palm, kissing it. “I’m sorry, I didn’t really mean it.”

  There had been very few kisses between them. How could she know that this man was hers? It probably didn’t make sense to the normal couple. But they were like two attracting magnets, unable to stay apart. When he was around, she forced herself to stay away from him. She’d said that she wanted their lives back to normal, but that was far from the truth.

  Things had to be different. No more boss lady and mechanic. She wanted him as a boyfriend in every way possible. Even on the way to vouch for illegal alien drug smugglers.