“In a perfect world, we’d be ruling it.” Maggie sat in the only cushioned chair in the room. She propped her boots on a wooden footstool. “Now here’s what we know. You obviously do have a link to Calhoun Petroleum. And the reservation is near here. We don’t mess with them. As far as we know, they don’t have any idea we’re here. That’s the way we like it. The reservation is under federal government control. That’s poison to us. In case you haven’t figured that out by now.” She studied her fingernails. They were plain, neatly trimmed, on delicate fingers. “We are exiles from the institutions the United States tries to impose on us. We will not bow down to their control or interference.”
“Then I don’t know why in the hell you parked yourselves so close to a place where they have an interest.” Billy seemed determined to bait her. Shannon wished she could get her hand free enough to slap it over his mouth.
“Figured it was the last place the Feds would look. So far it’s worked out.” She smiled with a flash of straight white teeth. “Most of us here quit paying income tax a long time ago. It’s a matter of principle. The Feds don’t like that. We say tough shit. We sure don’t salute their flag or accept their laws. So we stay off the grid to keep our freedom.” She leaned back and crossed one ankle over the other. “Hide and seek. It keeps us on our toes.”
“I get it. You let us leave and we’ll never tell anyone we saw you. I’m not crazy about the Feds either. Why should we work just to give them a cut of our hard-earned money?” Shannon glanced at Billy. Easy for her to say, but he was out a very expensive plane. How did that work with his insurance company? He was also called “an officer of the court,” sworn to uphold the law. He’d turn these people in as soon as they hit civilization.
Maggie laughed. “As if someone with the name Calhoun ever had to work a day in her life.” She shook her head. “I’m not buying your act, Shannon Calhoun.” Maggie held up a card. “You’re awfully quiet, William P. Pagan. We got this from the cockpit. Your pilot’s license. Reckon you’re a bit peeved about the loss of your plane. Shame about that.”
“Peeved? You could say that. I’m not too happy about the way you treated me and the fact that you fucking hit my woman.” His face flushed red and he strained against the ropes that held him. “No one hurts Shannon and gets away with it.”
“I think I just did.” Maggie shook her head. “You have a temper. But I like the protective instinct. Shannon, he’s a keeper. He carries a gun too. We believe in the right to bear arms. Too bad it didn’t help him here.” She smiled. “You were outgunned, weren’t you, Pagan? Funny name.”
“Don’t taunt him, Maggie.” Shannon hated to see Billy so worked up. Her face still throbbed from that slap and if he could see a handprint on her cheek? Well, he was obviously livid. Protective? She loved it, but she wasn’t going to let that instinct get him killed.
“Maggie, a lot of people knew where we were going today. People in the company. Okay, so we weren’t going to gamble, we were flying over the reservation to count oil wells. They’re close to here. We filed a flight plan. People are expecting us back at the airport outside of Houston by a certain time. Your jammers might have kept our mayday from going out, but we can’t just disappear. You really want search planes flying over here? Government planes?” Shannon took a breath. Was Maggie even listening? She’d picked up Shannon’s purse and was going through her makeup bag. She thought about mentioning Billy’s Indian connection but decided to hold back that information.
“I don’t think you’d last long in a camp like this, Shannon Calhoun. Look at all the makeup. Just for a simple flight over a few oil wells? That is if what you say is true.” Maggie glanced at her then held up a tube of moisturizer. “But I like this. I’ll keep it. I get too much sun out here.”
“Maggie, listen to me. Billy is a lawyer. He has important court dates he can’t miss. If he disappears, you’ll have a lot of government types hunting for him.”
“Give it up, Shannon. Maggie isn’t listening. She’s clearly not only off the grid, she’s off her rocker,” Billy snarled as he swayed the chair he was tied to toward the woman. “Your people fucked up. Now you don’t know what to do with us and that’s a fact.”
“Shut up. I could kill you both and bury you in the middle of the Big Thicket where no one would ever find you. I’ve done it before when people came along who disturbed our peace.” Maggie stood and walked over to face him. She kicked over his chair so that Billy landed on his back. “A lawyer? I hate fucking lawyers. They love to use the law to tie us in knots.”
“Billy!” Shannon thought for a moment that he’d hit his head and Maggie had knocked him out. Then he thrust out his feet, catching Maggie on the shin. She cursed and jumped back.
“You must have a death wish.” She pulled her gun and walked around the room. “You think I won’t kill you? Try me.” She jumped when the door opened.
“Maggie! Someone is coming.”
Chapter 9
Maggie and the rest of her crew ran out of the hut. That left Billy on the floor and Shannon sitting in her chair. Tied up.
“She’s going to kill us.” Shannon’s voice shook.
“No. We’re getting out of here.” Billy had been working on his knots since the asshole who’d put him there had made sure the rope was tight enough to cut off the circulation to his hands. Damn it. Thumping, coming closer. He turned his head to see Shannon determinedly rocking her chair across the wooden floor.
“You’re right. We can’t let that bitch win.” She kept coming.
“Careful. You don’t want to fall over. I can tell you, it hurts.” Billy realized the one thing his fall had done for him was loosen the ropes on his feet. He concentrated on those, kicking to see if he could get them free.
“I got lucky. The guy who put me in my chair probably thought I’d just sit here and wait to be rescued. I’m sure my knots aren’t as tight as yours. I heard him say he hoped your hands turned blue. Then there was this nail sticking out of the post next to me… Anyway, I’ve almost got my hands loose.” She looked down at him, her eyes bright with tears. “Are you hurt? I wanted to tear that woman’s hair out.”
“When she slapped you, I wanted to kill her.” Billy could see the faint print of the woman’s fingers on Shannon’s cheek. Kill? Oh, yes, and the hard way. “What do you mean there was a nail? Shannon!”
“Got it!” Her hands came out from behind her back, one wrist streaked with blood. “Hah! That sexist pig. Will obviously thought this little gal wouldn’t risk her manicure trying to get loose.” She leaned over and untied her feet then shook out her hands before going to work on Billy’s ropes.
“You’re amazing!” He grabbed her wrist as soon as she had him loose. “Damn it, Shannon, that nail tore a hole in you.”
“I’ll live.” Before he could stop her, she grabbed a clean bandanna and wrapped it around the wound while he was still untying his feet.
When he was finally free, Billy jumped up and kissed her. “You may have just saved our lives, woman. Shit, did I just sound sexist too?” He wished he had time to hold her for a minute. Her hands were a mess, with broken fingernails and the wrist that wasn’t wrapped rubbed raw.
“We’ll discuss it later. Now what?” She looked around the room. “I don’t see any weapons. And what do you bet there are guards outside?”
“Let me see what’s here.” Billy rummaged in the pile of blankets in the corner. Of course, they’d taken his cell phone but he did have one bit of luck. He tossed a blanket to Shannon and pocketed the small knife. It wasn’t much, but at least he didn’t feel completely helpless.
She grabbed her purse and looked inside. “They got my cell too, but this is something.” She held up a nail file.
“You’re right about that. Bring it.” He watched her sling the strap across her body. “Stay behind me and let’s see if they left a guard.” The hut had one window but
it was too damned small. Shannon could climb out, but he doubted he’d make it through with his bulky shoulders. He eased open the door and saw a group of people on the far side of the clearing. Apparently, a messenger had arrived. There was a lot of talk and loud arguing. Discussing their fate? No one was looking their way so they needed to move right now.
“Billy?” Shannon stayed close behind him.
“Come on.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her out and around the back of the hut, quietly shutting the door behind them. With luck, these nut jobs wouldn’t discover they were gone for a while. They ran through the trees, careful to make as little noise as possible. Billy stopped when he heard Shannon gasp for breath.
“We have to keep going. I don’t know if they’ve got any decent trackers, but try not to break a branch if you can help it. Step where I step. We have to stay quiet.” He brushed his fingers across her glistening forehead. It was still hot and the trees were dense. Spiky palmettos had slapped at them and vines hung down, catching their hair, thorns painful when they found bare skin. She hadn’t complained, constantly surprising him. “It’ll get cooler when the sun goes down so don’t lose that blanket. You want me to carry it for you?” He had one too, tied around his waist.
“No, I’ve got it. You’re good at this,” she whispered, holding his hand when he helped her over a fallen tree. “How, city boy?”
“Summers spent on the reservation. Some boys join Scouts. I played Cowboys and Indians, and the Indians always won.” He thought he heard a noise. “Move. Quiet now. I’m glad you wore boots.”
Shannon frowned down at them. “Cute cowboy boots. Not made for walking. I’ll try not to slow you down.”
“You look great, always do.” He squinted up at the sky. They needed to head toward the lake on the reservation. He could see just enough of the sun to be sure he was headed in the right direction. He also thought he could smell water. Wishful thinking when they’d had a drought all summer?
Dogs barking. Bad news if they had their scent. But they hadn’t left any clothing behind, had they? He didn’t have time to think about that, pulling Shannon along into a shallow ditch with a miracle—a bit of water that would mask their smell if the dogs did have something of theirs. The rocky ditch made for tough walking that challenged even him. Shannon kept up and he turned several times to give her a smile of encouragement.
After an eternity, the dogs’ barking got fainter then disappeared entirely.
* * * *
Mosquitos buzzed and bit. She bled from a dozen scratches, but Shannon was determined not to slow them down. She inhaled the incredible smell. Pine and fresh air. Her feet killed her, but she had to ignore them. And then there was her throbbing wrist. When had she last had a tetanus shot? Couldn’t think about any of that now. This was a run for her life, their lives. The baying dogs finally disappeared, and she wondered if they could actually be winning this race.
She stumbled over a tree trunk and fell hard. Oh, God, please don’t let her ruin this for both of them. She lay there, struggling to catch her breath. Billy knelt beside her, murmuring, checking to see if she was hurt.
“I’m fine. Give me a minute,” she croaked. She sat up carefully and did a body check. No new damage, just the aches and pains she’d already catalogued. Man, was she tempted to pull off those cute boots. But there was no way she’d walk barefoot over this ground. Something rustled in the brush. Critters, maybe even a snake. That got her on her feet so fast she almost knocked over Billy.
There was a shout nearby that pushed her into a sprint. This time she pulled Billy. He was too worried about her. She wasn’t a damned prima donna. If he thought she was a delicate flower, he could think again. Didn’t he know ballerinas had to be strong? If he could have seen her as a teenager at ballet camp, he’d have learned a thing or two. She’d fallen a million times and had to get up fast under the eagle eye of Madame Olga. Landing on pine needles was nothing compared to the hard wooden floor of a dance studio. Of course, her lifestyle lately would make anyone go soft. Good thing she still got in the occasional dance class. Now she’d show Billy she was tougher than she looked or die trying.
She pulled the dull brown blanket around her shoulders, pretty sure her bright red blouse had given away their location. Billy’s hand landed on her back, a pat of approval.
They hadn’t gone far when Billy stopped and pointed. There was a clearing and a garden. Rows of well-tended plants were obviously thriving.
“Is that what I think it is?” Shannon struggled to catch her breath.
“Cash crop, though they might smoke their own dope instead of selling it.” Billy stayed close, talking so quietly she had to strain to hear him over her own labored breathing. He looked behind them. “No wonder they don’t want us to escape. They’re not going to like leaving this behind.” A gun shot rang out and a branch exploded next to his shoulder. “Shit. Run!”
Shannon leaped over a fallen tree then ran flat out. Billy stayed on her heels as they zigzagged through the brush. Two more gunshots snapped leaves over their heads. Of course, they’d posted guards next to their marijuana. How long would they keep chasing them? Raked by more thorns, slapped by palmetto, Shannon had never been so miserable. But she kept running, her thighs burning, her feet screaming, too terrified to slow down.
Another gunshot. Billy grunted and she almost tripped when she looked back to make sure he hadn’t been hit. He shook his head, plucking a branch of leaves from his head. A near miss. Dear God.
It was dusk by the time she finally staggered to a stop. Shannon didn’t think she could walk another step. The only sounds she heard besides her own wheezes were birds singing and running water. Peaceful sounds. Keep going. She’d lifted one of her aching feet when Billy grabbed her arms.
“Shannon, wait. Look over there.”
“What?” She turned her head and saw a creek. Or maybe it was a river or bayou. She couldn’t tell the difference. What she knew about nature could fill a tweet on Twitter. Good thing Billy had spent summers learning survival. Besides dance, her camp had included such critical skills as makeup and manners, the things a woman should know to be a graceful hostess and beautiful asset when she married Mr. Right one day. She swayed on feet that hurt so bad she fought tears. Useless, she was useless here.
Billy studied her, his face reflecting his concern. “Hey, are you okay?” He put his hands on her shoulders. “Shannon?”
She firmed her stance, refusing to fall into his arms. “Water. What does it mean?”
“It’s a good sign. We’ve come a long way. I don’t hear any people or dogs behind us. Haven’t for a long time. I hope that creek means we’re close to Lake TomTom. It’s on the reservation. I think we can stop and rest.” Billy slipped the blanket off her shoulders and threw it down in the clearing next to the water. “Sit. Take off your boots. You’ve been limping.”
“Yes. Blisters.” She wasn’t going to cry. No way. But the idea of taking off those boots…
“Baby, let me.” He helped her sit then reached for one of her boots.
“No!” She brushed away his hand. “I have to do it. They’re hard to get on and off. Custom made. If you pull wrong, you could cause more damage to my foot. I’ll wiggle it off.” She smiled and touched his cheek. “Thanks, though. Check the water. If it’s cool, once they’re off I’d love to stick my feet in there.”
“Sure.” He walked to the edge and washed his hands, then his face. “It’s great.” He drank a handful of it, something Shannon didn’t think she could do. “It’s fine. Quit frowning. I don’t think it’ll kill you.”
“You don’t think.” She began working off the first boot, trying not to scream at the pain. Yes, these were custom made and had always been fine for her days as a Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo volunteer. Of course, she hadn’t demanded much of them. She’d mostly ridden a golf cart around the huge parking lot at NRG stadium wher
e the rodeo was held every February. She directed other volunteers because she liked the scholarship programs the rodeo provided. As a perk, she scored free tickets to the performances.
“Hey, Billy, you like country music? I can get us into the shows at the rodeo.” She figured talking about music might take her mind off the pain as she wrenched off the first boot. Oh, yes, she had a blister the size and color of a strawberry. Damn, now was not the time to think about food. She was starving.
“Not really my thing. But the rodeo usually books a few rock groups, hip-hop. Maybe we can find music we both like.” He frowned when he came over and saw her foot. “Look at you. That must have hurt like hell.”
“Don’t look. My feet are hideous.” She started on the other boot. “Not heavy metal, I hope. I can tolerate almost anything but that.”
“If I can sit through the opera and ballet, you can sit through my noise, lady. How do you feel about football? I have season tickets to the Texans, the Longhorn games too. In Austin.” He watched her work on that boot.
“Football? I like watching men in tight pants. Then there are the hotdogs.” She winced as the second boot came off. “Austin. Sure. It would be fun to go to games and spend the weekend. I’ve discovered some great shops there.”
“All right then. Football and shopping while we’re in Austin. I can live with that.” He waited until she dropped her other boot then picked her up and carried her to a flat rock where she could sit and dip both feet into the cool water. “How’s that?”
“Heaven.” She sighed. It did feel good. “Seriously? We’re going to have to learn to deal with each other’s tastes? I guess this relationship is going to be all about compromise.”
“Guess so. We didn’t try that the first few times, did we? Compromise is what mature people do when they want to make things work.” He smiled as he sat beside her and pulled off his own shoes and socks. He’d worn sensible boots and his feet looked a little pink but had no sign of real damage. He stuck them in the water too. “Maybe if we both try, we can do this thing.”
Texas Pride Page 13
