Beef Stolen-Off (30 page)

Jordan glanced toward Victor and put her finger to her lips so he wouldn’t speak. It would be just like Bella to be up there eavesdropping, trying to figure out a way to finish
them off. When they finally heard Ray’s Suburban drive away, she let out the breath she’d been holding.

“Do you think she’s really gone?”

Jordan turned toward Victor and nodded, noticing the fear in his eyes. She smiled, hoping he bought into her fake bravado. Then she noticed that Cooper’s body had shifted, leaning more toward Victor, and she scooted so that he could move farther away from it.

She wondered how Bella had lured Cooper to the ranch in the first place, but then remembered his saying he hadn’t seen who’d killed Diego and his friend.

He had told Jordan that when he heard shots fired and saw his friend go down, he raced back to his truck like a gazelle with a tiger on its tail. Because he’d had no idea who the shooter was, she knew he wouldn’t have thought twice about coming when Bella called, especially if she offered to help.

“Jordan?”

“Yeah.”

“I was just thinking about all the things in my life that I haven’t done yet,” Victor said, his voice breaking.

“Quit talking like that, Victor. It won’t be long before our friends realize we’ve been gone way too long and come looking for us.”

“They don’t even know we’re here.” He sighed. “I never did make it to Paris. That was my lifelong dream, you know.”

“I didn’t know, Victor, but you need to quit worrying about your bucket list. It isn’t doing you any good to get so morbid, and you’re freaking me out.”

She wrapped her arms around her chest, wishing she hadn’t thrown her sweater in a corner at Sandy’s house. Even though there was still an hour of daylight left, it was
chilly in the hole. As she breathed in the smell of wet dirt and rotting leaves and listened to the sounds of what must be a quadrillion birds in the trees surrounding the pit, she thought back to what Bella had said.

“What do you think Diego had on Bella that he was using to blackmail her?” she asked, deciding she’d better get Victor’s mind on something other than dying.

“I don’t know. If I had to guess, I’d say he knew something about her past that she didn’t want revealed. That’s usually how it works in the movies.”

“Yeah, or maybe he threatened to tell Lucas about her affair with Rusty.”

“That sounds more like it, since her goal was to inherit the old man’s money.”

“I guess we’ll never know,” Jordan said. She turned toward him, wincing when pain shot up her leg. “I’m so sorry I got you into this mess, Victor.”

“Hush now, Jordan. I was the one who wanted to check this place out.” He tried to smile. “What I wouldn’t give to be eating cold meatball subs with Michael and teasing him about his new haircut right about now.”

When Jordan heard him sniff, she reached over and patted his leg. “We’ll be out of this stupid hole soon, Victor. But instead of cold subs, I want a pizza with sausage, pepperoni, green peppers, and extra cheese.”

“Yum. That does sound good.” He was silent for a moment. “Do you honestly think we’ll make it out of here alive? I can’t bear the thought that the last thing I’ll ever see before I bite the bullet is a dead man.”

“I’m positive we will,” she replied, hoping he didn’t hear the desperation in her voice.

Bella had said no one ever ventured out this way anymore, and they hadn’t seen a single person on the ride over.
For a ranch the size of this one that employed a lot of people, that seemed odd. Where were all the workers?

“I hope you’re right,” he said.

“I promise I’ll…” She paused to listen, hoping what she’d just heard wasn’t what she thought it was.

But when she heard it again, she realized her worst fear had come true. It wasn’t a sound you ever wanted to hear if you were stuck in a pit with no way out. She’d heard that rattle enough times hiking with her brothers in the woods behind their house in Amarillo to know exactly what it meant.

When her peripheral vision picked up a slight movement across from them, she jerked her head around and whispered, “Don’t move, Victor.”

“Why?” He sat up straight and followed her eyes. “Oh, sweet Jesus! Is that what I think it is?”

She couldn’t take her eyes off the biggest rattlesnake she’d ever seen, and she’d seen a lot of them in West Texas. “Be still. They have heat seeking receptors below their eyes. It’s already aware that we’re here, but we don’t want to make any sudden moves.”

The rattler had been coiled in the dark and was now staring at them menacingly, all the while flicking its forked tongue. When it began to slowly slither forward, Jordan spotted two smaller snakes that had been under their mother, and she nearly cried out.

Placing her hand on Victor’s knee to stop the shaking, she whispered in his ear, “Don’t go crazy on me, but there are a couple of baby rattlers behind the big snake. That might explain why she might be more aggressive than usual, although rattlesnakes aren’t known for their mothering skills.”

“Oh shit!”

“Whatever you do, don’t let the babies near you. I was always told their venom is much more concentrated than an adult’s and gives you a bigger bang for the buck. I’ve since learned this probably isn’t true, but still, use caution.”

“You’re a cowgirl, Jordan. Do something,” Victor shouted.

With Victor’s voice echoing in the hole, the snake once again rattled its tail. Quickly, Jordan searched the ground with both hands, finally settling on a clump of dirt. Grabbing it, she flung it toward the reptile, causing another warning rattle before the snake hissed and slithered back to protect her babies.

When she thought it was safe to breathe again, Jordan exhaled noisily. “That was close.”

“Do you think that’s what killed Cooper?” Victor whispered, never taking his eyes off the snakes.

“I don’t know. Rattlesnakes inject a hemotoxic venom that destroys the blood cells. It’s strong enough to stun smaller prey so they can swallow them whole. It’s usually not fatal to a fully grown human if they can make it to a hospital quickly and get the antivenom.”

“Obviously, Cooper didn’t get it.”

“Judging by the hole in his forehead, I’d say the rattlesnake was the least of his worries,” Jordan said.

“Can that rattler reach out and strike from where it is?” Victor asked, sliding so close to her, she imagined she could feel his heart beating.

“They can only extend about two-thirds the length of their bodies. We have a little room to play with, but let’s not chance it. Just be still and don’t startle her. They normally only attack when they’re after food or they sense danger. Still, I wouldn’t want to mess with any mother and her offspring.”

Just then a shot rang out, and both Jordan and Victor
screamed as the snake flew up in the air and landed several feet in front of them. Two more shots were fired in succession, killing the babies.

“Don’t touch it, Victor,” Jordan screamed when he leaned toward the dead snake. “Their biting reflex remains intact even after they die.”

“Are you okay down there?” A masculine voice called out.

Both Jordan and Victor hollered at once before Jordan clamped her hand over her mouth. What if it was one of Bella’s henchmen here to finish the job?

She leaned closer to Victor and whispered, “Push back again. Let’s not make it easy for whoever’s up there to pick us off like sitting ducks.”

“I’m dropping a rope down. Grab on to it, and I’ll use my vehicle to pull you out, one at a time.”

Victor’s eyes lit up. “Why would someone go to all the trouble to rescue us then kill us once we’re out of this hole?”

In her mind, Jordan recited all the reasons why they should take their chances with the dead snake rather than risk facing a live one with a gun, which was way more deadly than a hemotoxin. She was still debating what to do when the heavy rope descended.

Victor grabbed it and pushed it her way. “Ladies first.”

“Maybe we should go up together because of your arm.”

“I’m okay, really.”

She hesitated momentarily, then grabbed the rope, murmuring to herself, “Okay, God, it will be Sunday masses for me from now on if there’s a good guy waiting up there.” She took a deep breath and one last look at Victor before hollering, “I’m ready.”

Slowly she was lifted up the twenty-foot wall until she was over the edge. Only then did she make eye contact with the man who had just rescued her.

“Farley?”

The smile that crossed the man’s face could have lit up a room. “You’re that reporter girl, aren’t you?”

Her return smile faded fast as pain shot up her leg when she tried to stand and couldn’t. The man she and Danny had met the day of Rusty’s memorial service jumped down from the three-rowed golf cart and was by her side in a flash. He scooped her up as though she were lighter than air and carried her to the cart, positioning her sideways to elevate her right foot on the seat.

“That looks like a nasty sprain,” he said, taking a moment to examine her ankle.

Jordan glanced down to see that it was now swollen to double its normal size. “How did you find us?” she asked.

“First things first. I need to get your friend out of that pit in case there’s another snake I might have missed.”

“I only saw the three you shot,” Jordan said. “One of Bella’s bullets grazed my friend’s shoulder, but he says he can make it.”

Farley threw the rope down in the hole for a second time, then raced back to the cart and slowly drove it forward after Victor gave the okay. Jordan’s eyes were glued to the edge of the pit, and when she saw Victor’s smiling face, she burst into tears.

Farley stepped down and moved to the other side to help Victor into the cart. Once he was situated in the seat behind Jordan, Farley started off.

“You can’t take us to the ranch house, Farley. Bella will kill us.”

Instead of looking surprised, the old man merely
lowered his head and nodded. “I know. I saw what she did to you.”

“How?”

“When I noticed a car driving toward the hunting area, I figured it was a couple of good old boys with a cooler full of beer and an array of high-powered rifles trying to sneak in a little hunting. Although Lucas has made it perfectly clear the area is off-limits, I still have to scare off trespassers every now and again.”

“Where were you? We didn’t see anyone on the road.”

“There’s a twenty-foot length of fence over yonder that I’ve been meaning to repair for weeks. With everything that’s happened, I never could seem to find the time. Fortunately for you, I finally made it out there today and spotted the SUV. When I didn’t recognize it, I jumped in the cart and followed. I was almost to the hunting stand when I saw Bella following you two with a gun. Before I could confront her with my own shotgun, I heard the shots and saw you both jump.”

“You can’t possibly know how grateful we are to you,” Jordan said, finally getting her tears under control.

“You can bet your sweet one that I’m coming back in a day or so and get that big-ass snake,” Victor said. “After all I went through, that mama owes me a man purse.”

Both Farley and Jordan laughed. It was great hearing Victor cracking jokes again.

“You’re not going to be laughing so hard when I tell you what Bella did to your car. I saw her drive it to the lake several hundred yards from the hunting area, and she let it slide in. It bubbled a few times, then disappeared.”

Jordan twirled around and giggled. “Ray is gonna kill us.”

Farley chuckled as he turned down a gravel road and pulled up to a small house.

Turning around, he handed Jordan his cell phone. “There’s a strong signal here. You’d better call 911.”

The next few hours were chaotic. When the police arrived at the ranch, they found Lucas semiconscious with a feeding tube down his throat. Apparently, when he was no longer able to swallow or refused to, Bella had decided to use her nursing expertise to speed things up. They arrested her and whisked him off in an ambulance, along with Jordan and Victor.

After X-rays confirmed Jordan’s ankle wasn’t broken, the ER doctor wrapped it and fitted her with crutches. Victor fared better with only a bandage on his shoulder and a prescription for antibiotics. Once cleared and allowed to leave the hospital, he’d insisted they take him to Jordan’s room while she waited for the physical therapist to stop by and give her instructions on how to walk with the crutches.

When the gang arrived and surrounded her bed, Jordan finally got the scoop on Bella. After the police discovered Lucas near death, they’d obtained a search warrant. In a
drawer next to Santana’s bed, they’d found several empty bottles of potassium and blood thinners as well as the gun used to kill Diego, Cooper, Cooper’s friend, and Jake Richards.

“And you had no clue Bella might be the killer?” Lola asked, squeezing her ample bottom in between Michael and the bed.

“None,” Victor answered for Jordan. “I still don’t know how Jordan figured it out.” He leaned over the bed rail. “Well?”

“She asked if I’d seen Cooper kill Diego that night.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Michael asked.

“When the newspaper reported the murders, they didn’t mention there’d been a witness.”