Sacrifice of Passion (Deadly Legends) (22 page)

Chris’s eyes were wide. Terror-stricken. “He’s been gone all day, Vic. Why?”

“I’m looking for my son.”

“I-I don’t know where Zach is.” Chris held up his hands as if he were being arrested. “I swear, Vic. I don’t know nothing.”

Vic released him with a shove and backed up. His temples throbbed; heat crawled relentlessly up his neck. “Twelve years ago, you and Jasper and your uncle had dinner at the West’s.”

Chris looked puzzled. “If you say so.”

“Delaney says so,” Vic snapped. “The next day, she left town.”

“Okay… Um…”

Vic advanced on Chris again, his rage getting the better of him. “Something happened that night. Something bad. And I want to know which one of you is responsible.”

Chris balked, sputtering uncontrollably. “Okay, yeah, I remember that night.” His knees shook and kept rubbing his sweaty palms on his jeans. “Delaney went to bed early, I think. And my uncle drove us home.”

“Did you stay there?”

Chris nodded vigorously. “I watched a monster truck rally on TV—”

“And Jasper?”

Chris’s shoulders jerked as they rose in a despondent shrug. “He was with me. But my uncle was gone all night. He came back in the morning, higher than a kite, like he was on meth or something. Not that he’d ever do drugs—that’s against the Lord.” He hesitated, retreating a step.

Vic spun around, panic seeping into every one of his cells. If he believed Chris—and he reluctantly found he did—it meant… Christ. It meant that Landon Locke was the chupacabra.

His head reeled. Now what? He couldn’t stand around and do nothing. As he ran back to his truck, he called Derek. “The chupacabra is Landon Locke,” he said, then hung up before Braido got a word out, and pointed the truck toward the main road.

His mind twisted around the possible places Locke might have taken Zach and Delaney. He’d found his sheep near the property line between his ranch and Jasper’s ranch. McDuff’s goat had been smack-dab in the middle of the rancher’s own property. Red’s first dead goat had been at the four corners, and his second goat was near the West’s irrigation canal. The steer had been along the beaten path between Vic’s own ranch and the West’s. Jasper had been found dead in his own barn. All were neighbors of the Wests, that was clear. But where would the chupacabra go next?

Vic shook his head. With a heavy foot on the gas pedal, he barely slowed before taking the turn at the end of the road and heading for Jasper’s. Jasper had been an unwitting accomplice. But Vic had to start somewhere.

Esperanza’s muted voice filtered into his brain. “What?” he said, swerving to avoid an armadillo in the road.

“
Tarde
,” Esperanza mumbled. “Too late.”

He snapped his head to glare at Esperanza. “No.” But fear had taken hold. Had settled deep in his soul. And as much as he didn’t want to give into it, as much as he wanted to hold onto hope, he was afraid that the curandera was right and that the two people he loved most in the world had already been taken from him.

Esperanza muttered, turning him. Her face was oddly serene given the breakneck speed they were traveling at. “She ith fighting.”

“Delaney?” he demanded. “She’s fighting him? Right now?”

But Esperanza had turned forward again and her eyes had drifted closed. “
Un rio. Agua roja
,” she muttered.

Red water? Vic’s heart stopped beating.
A river of blood
.

…

Zach had held his tongue, hanging on for dear life as Delaney galloped El Rei hard. She hadn’t heard the whine of the truck behind them for a while now, but had kept the mustang to a fast pace nonetheless. She switched the reins to one hand and reached into her pocket for her cell phone with the other, checking once again to see if she had bars. Her hand jerked with every jolt of the horse’s hooves against the ground. El Rei charged out of a gulley and she saw bars at last. Thank God. She wrapped her arms around Zach, bracing them against each other as she found Vic’s cell phone number. At least she’d had the foresight to plug his number into her phone after he’d left all those messages at her folks’ the other day.

“Please answer,” she murmured, carefully holding the phone to her ear.

“Laney!” he said frantically. “Thank God! Where are you? Is Zach with you?”

Vic’s voice across the line sent a blast of panic through her. It made everything she was on the verge of losing seem more real. “He’s okay,” she yelled above the clattering hooves. “I have him—”

She broke off as a horn blared behind her. Adrenaline shot through her system. Oh, God.
Locke had found them.
Risking a look, she saw Jasper’s beat-up old truck gaining on them.

“Delaney! Talk to me!” Vic shouted. “Where are you? Are you both okay?”

She wouldn’t be okay until she made sure Zach was safely with his father and she was in Vic’s arms.

Jasper’s old truck, with Locke behind the wheel, barreled up on her right. She didn’t know where Vic was, but where they were, she knew the only chance she and Zach had was to dart through the thicket of trees and head straight out to her parents’ ranch.

She yanked the reins and cut left. Hard.

Locke braked, the truck skidding into a donut. “Hang on, Zach!” she shouted.

The boy hadn’t moved, but she could feel his body shaking like a maraca.

“Laney!”

She had the phone in her hand, barely able to hear Vic shout, but she didn’t dare bring the phone to her ear and loosen her grip on the reins. She’d been in enough barrel races to know she had to maintain tight control of the horse to win. And this was one race she wasn’t going to lose.

“Vic,” she shouted. “Meet me at the—”

The horse’s hoof landed in a hole. He stumbled, his foot catching under him. The left rein slipped from Delaney’s hand and El Rei veered right.
No!
She grabbed for the rein. Opened her hand to curl her fingers around it. The phone slipped, dragging the leather band with it. Her fingers fumbled. The rein flew sideways, and the phone sailed off into the tornado of mud beneath the horse’s hooves.

The truck swerved up right behind them, tires churning up the ground.

With no one holding the reins, El Rei flew like the wind.

Straight for the low branches of the woods.

…

Christ!” Where the hell was Delaney? Vic threw his phone down on the seat of the truck, his emotions in turmoil. His worse fear was coming true. He couldn’t protect the ones he loved.

Thank God Delaney had Zach. She was doing everything she could to save his son. Now he needed to save her. Where was she? Think!

He’d heard the galloping of a horse and the blare of a horn over the line. El Rei. He fervently hoped she was riding his mustang and not Bluebell, the horse he’d acquired just because of her name.

If any horse could outrun a vehicle, it was El Rei.

“
¿Donde ethtán?
”

Esperanza’s voice caught him off-guard. He’d been so focused as he’d talked to Delaney, he’d forgotten about the curandera.

“They’re on a horse.” Somewhere. This was Texas. Hundreds of thousands of acres of pastureland, scrub, and wilderness.

“You cannot change the patht…” Esperanza muttered, turning her face to the passenger window.

Vic knew that only too well. He wanted to undo all of Delaney’s pain. To make Landon Locke pay for his crimes. To have another chance to meet her in the dark of night and elope—

His thoughts skidded to a stop.
You cannot change the past
. His body straightened.

Meet me at the…
Delaney had yelled before her phone went dead.

Relief flooded through him. Fate was intervening. Or God. He didn’t care which. All he knew was that this was his chance not to let Delaney down. An opportunity to change the past.

A second chance to meet Delaney at the Chain Tree.

Chapter Twenty

By the time they trotted up to the Chain Tree, Delaney’s heart was pounding blood through her veins until she thought they might burst from the pressure. Once they’d hit the thicket of trees at the edge of her parents’ ranch, she’d managed to grab hold of the reins again. The roar of the pickup had faded. Now, she blew out a breath and looked around desperately.

No Vic.

She kept riding, circling back around, searching the yard. She’d prayed Vic would be here by now. Would have understood the place she’d been about to say before the cell phone had gone flying.

She maneuvered the horse through a maze of barren trunks, and with her breath a solid mass in her lungs and El Rei’s nostrils snorting, she pulled him to a halt. Wondered what on earth to do now.

Meet me at the Chain Tree, she’d started to tell Vic. It was the only place that had come to mind. The closest landmark she could think of where Vic could race to be reunited with Zach. And with her. Before Locke caught them both.

But she hadn’t been able to say it, and he wasn’t here.

The roar of a racing motor hit her ears, sending a bolt of terror through her.

She dug her heels into El Rei, coaxing the winded horse behind the barn to hide. Her breath came in ragged spurts, mirroring the uneven rise and fall of Zach’s skinny chest under her palms. “It’s going to be okay,” she whispered to him.

She thought he nodded, but she couldn’t be sure. She was distracted by the slamming of a car door. And then by the sound of her name being called. Locke? She cocked her head, listening. Already scrambling in her mind. How were they going to get away?

“Laney!”

She sagged under an avalanche of relief.

“Vic!” In a flash, she was off the horse, gritting her teeth against the pain in her ribs, dragging Zach down with her. Nothing mattered except getting to Vic. And showing him that Zach was all right.

She’d made it. They all had.

…

Vic felt as if he was in a sappy love story when Delaney and Zach raced out from behind the barn. The woman he loved had saved his son. They were both alive! He ran toward them. He had to touch them. Hold them. Make sure they were real. That they weren’t hurt.

He was twenty yards away from them. Fifteen. Ten.

Delaney smiled as she grabbed Zach’s hand and they picked up speed. She looked exhausted. Beaten up. But the second she laid eyes on him, she seemed to glow.

Thank God. They were both okay.

And he was the luckiest man on the face of the earth.

Five more yards—

From behind the barn, a figure bolted toward Delaney and Zach.

“Watch out!” Vic yelled. He sprinted forward. But not fast enough. Landon Locke grabbed hold of Zach’s jacket and yanked his hand from Delaney’s.

“No!” Delaney screamed, landing on her backside from Locke’s shove.

Locke spun Zach away by the jacket, pulling him to his tiptoes. Sheila dangled precariously from Zach’s arms, squealing. In a split second, Locke had the boy in a choke hold.

Vic stared at the flash of Locke’s hand as he grabbed hold of the piglet and flung Sheila away.

Zach cried out, tears streaming down his face. The pig landed on a mound of grass.

Vic ripped his attention back to Locke. The man gripped a thick, awl-like tool in his hand and pressed it to Zach’s neck.

Christ, no!
Vic’s heart stuttered. He started forward, but held himself back, deathly afraid that one wrong move would make Locke stab the weapon into Zach’s jugular. He briefly sought Delaney out as she scrambled to her feet, holding her gaze for a split second and silently communicated to her to be calm and careful.

He swiveled his gaze back to his son, uttering a fervent prayer. He had to get Zach away from that monster.

A satisfied smile spread onto Locke’s face. “Not quite how I’d planned it, Vargas,” he said, “but the end result will be the same.”

“No it won’t,” Vic ground out. Over his dead body.

“I’m going to sacrifice the bastard offspring of a lustful man while my love watches. While you watch, Vargas. As punishment for your sinful acts.”

Vic held his hand out, silently reassuring Zach. “No way in hell, Locke,” he said, his voice threateningly low.

Locke backed up a few steps, putting distance between himself and Vic. “The offerings will be complete soon, and then it will be over.” His gaze darted to Delaney. “And then I’ll be able to take care of you.”

When hell freezes over
. Vic inched toward them, adrenaline surging through his veins. He needed to distract the bastard. “Why Jasper?” he asked, moving almost imperceptibly. “He was your flesh and blood. He loved you.”

Locke threw back his head and chortled. “Jasper.” He spat. “His sacrifice saved his soul, his blood atoning for his sins. It was his only hope for eternal peace. He prepared Delaney for me. His sin, not mine.”

Vic stared. Locke had forced Jasper into an unwitting accomplice and then killed him for it. He felt the heat of anger prickle his neck. Behind his eyelids. His temples. “You’re an abomination.” He gestured in Delaney’s direction. “What you did to Delaney—she was just a kid.”

“That didn’t stop
you
,” Locke snapped.

“No. My sense of values and honor did. She was still innocent, you bastard. You were supposed to be a man of God but you’re not, are you? You’re sick. Twisted. You’ve killed.” Vic was closer to Locke and Zach now, but still out of reach. His son’s eyes were wide. Scared. Vic’s determination grew tenfold.

Locke sneered. “No, I’ve sacrificed. Done what I know is right by God, what my father taught me—”

Vic felt Delaney beside him before he heard her rage-filled voice. “You drugged me. You raped me. Nothing about that is right or godly.”

Locke’s eyes grew wide for an instant, a flicker of something indecipherable passing through them, but they quickly shifted back to normal. He pressed the awl against Zach’s neck, making the boy howl.

Above, the storm clouds darkened, thunder rolling through them.

“Stop!” Delaney shouted. “Don’t do this!”

“It’s the only way.” Locke turned to her as if expecting her to understand. “Don’t you see? I’ve made peace with the past.”

Fury surged through Vic. This was not gonna happen.

“I’ve atoned for
us
. It’s the work of our Lord,” Locke finished triumphantly. “That’s what my father always told me before he made me atone for my sins. I was a good pupil. A good son.” With one hand, he pulled his shirt open to reveal hundreds of parallel scars on his chest, most thick with age, others newly formed. “One for each sin. My sacrificial blood.”

Shit. For generations in San Julio, the Locke family had been known to be strict in their religious beliefs, but what Locke’s father had done to him wasn’t even vaguely religious. It was sick. And those actions had created an even sicker man.

As if on cue, heavy drops of rain fell like missiles from the sky. Locke peered up. His gaze shifted over her shoulder, then he stilled. His mouth dropped open, his eyes growing wide with fear. His other hand loosened its hold on Zach.

Vic knew without looking exactly what had stunned Locke. He heard the clomp of a cane against the ground.

Vic caught Zach’s eye, motioning him subtly with a tilt of the head. Zach swallowed and began to edge away from Locke, a little at a time.

Vic gave a quick, approving nod.
Good, son
.
Slowly
.

“Thith ith not the work of our Lord. You will be judged,” Esperanza said, stabbing her cane at Locke. “Chupacabra.”

…

Vic kept his gaze firmly on Locke. Esperanza had held the man spellbound, but Locke suddenly recovered his composure and grabbed for Zach. He was too quick. Vic barely had time to move before the lunatic had the weapon pressing against his son’s neck.

Esperanza advanced a step. Locke growled at her. “Stop, or I’ll sacrifice this boy right now.”

The curandera’s cane was still pointing at Locke. Her white eyes looked like they were boring holes into him. She kept hobbling toward him.

“Get away from me,” Locke snarled, but another flicker of fear flashed in his eyes.

Vic took a small step forward. He could feel his pulse beating in his veins, like a drumbeat urging a warrior into battle. “Let him go,” he said, dangerously aware that Locke could plunge the awl into Zach’s neck at any moment.

Locke hissed, visibly shuddering. The movement seemed to course through his body in slow motion. “First the boy,” he said, “and then you, Vargas. I’ll use your blood to sanctify your sins, the way I was taught. You should have left her alone. Kept your hands off of her.” He sneered. “I saw you together. In your living room. Fornicating.”

Vic felt the blood drain from his face. Felt his insides go cold. Was that why he’d gone after Zach? “And so you’re going to punish me, is that it?” And in his twisted way, Locke thought he was avenging Delaney?

Zach’s face was pale, his little body shaking under his jacket. Vic held his hands out in a reassuring gesture. I’m here, he said with his eyes.
I’m not going to let anything happen to you, son.
He turned back to Locke. “Let him go, Landon.”

Locke shook his head violently. “You don’t understand. You have to suffer”—he squeezed Zach’s neck, but the boy remained stoic—“as you’ve made me suffer. You have to be punished for laying hands on her.”

Vic’s unbridled anger left him beyond feeling anything else. His body went perfectly still and his voice even as glass. “If you don’t let him go, I’ll kill you.”

“Then you’ll have your own sins to repent for.”

“I’ll take my chances.” He inched forward. Zach was almost within reach. He thought he saw Delaney move, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of Zach and Locke.

Zach kept his focus on Vic.
Good boy
, Vic told him silently.
Don’t let him scare you. I’ll keep you safe.

Delaney moved again, and he cut her a look. Their eyes met for an instant, long enough for him to know that she was going to try something. He lasered in on the awl pressing against Zach’s neck. Behind his son loomed Locke’s face—carved in hatred.

An unintelligible string of words spewed from Esperanza. She swung her cane.

Locke’s arm jerked and Vic lunged.

The moment turned surreal, everything happening simultaneously, in slow motion. Vic tackled Locke, grabbed his wrist, and yanked it away from Zach’s neck. Vic twisted it savagely. Locke howled and his fingers loosened. The awl slipped, making a dull thud as it hit the ground.

Delaney sprinted forward, ducked down and wrapped her arms around Zach’s legs, drop-rolling him out of harm’s way.

Vic wrestled Locke to the ground. The man put up a fight, trying to get his arm around Vic’s neck to pull himself into a controlling position, but Vic pummeled him, pounding his fist against his face until Locke’s arm finally dropped, the fight going out like a light. He lay like a corpse beneath Vic.

There would be no more sacrifices.

No more chupacabra.

…

Vic’s heart thundered in his chest, then slowed, the adrenaline draining out of him. Locke still lay immobile on the ground. He searched out Delaney. Found her still holding Zach close, crouching beside the Chain Tree. Esperanza’s hand fluttered over the two of them, as if she were framing them with an invisible aura.

Vic heard sirens in the distance. Finally, his heartbeat slowed to a regular rhythm. One of the locals must have told Braido they’d seen Vic tearing off in the direction of the West ranch. Sometimes living in a small town like San Julio had its benefits.

Delaney had Zach folded up in her arms, and suddenly Vic didn’t want to move. He wanted to commit to memory the way his woman hugged his son, the true affection Delaney had for Zach. Behaving just as a mother would.

Vic flagged down the sheriff’s cruiser as it pulled up, and pointed Braido in Locke’s direction.

Vic finally felt his body uncoil. It was over. He jogged over to Zach and Delaney, and wrapped them both up in his own grateful hug.

“
It ith over
,” Esperanza said with a nod.

Flanked by Delaney on one side and Zach on the other, Vic looked at the curandera. Her eyes were closed, her face tilted toward the clearing sky. The rain had stopped.

The storm had passed.

“Si,” he said. It was finished. Completely over. “
Gracias, Doña
Esperanza.”

“
Por nada
,” she said, directing her face toward him, her sightless eyes glinting mysteriously. “
Ay, eres un milagro
, Vicente Vargas.”

Hell, no. He was the furthest thing from a miracle. He was just a man who had realized what was most important in life. A son he loved. A woman he adored. And a future filled with them both.

And he couldn’t forget the curandera. She’d made her peace with her part in Delaney’s trauma, and in the process, had helped give Delaney a chance to be free of her past. He’d always be grateful to her for that.

“Oh, my God! Sheila…” Zach’s scared voice snapped him back to the present. His son ran to the side of the Chain Tree, crouching next to the little black piglet. “Is she…”

Vic bent down next to them. The pig was in bad shape. Its leg was twisted in the wrong direction, but the resilient animal stirred.

Delaney came up behind them. “I’ll call Doc Clinton,” she said. He handed her his cell phone.

“Please,” Zach said, wiping away a tear. “Help her, Dad.”

Vic stared at his son for a beat.

Dad.

The word sounded like heaven coming from Zach’s mouth. Vic unclipped his phone from his waistband and handed it to Delaney, thanking her with his eyes. She smiled at him as he pulled Zach into another hug.

“We’ll do everything we can, son,” he said, hoping Sheila would live. That he’d have the opportunity to show Zach how much he loved him. That they could all start healing, together.

“Vic,” Delaney said, her voice tight, but a smile playing at the corner of her lips. “Look.” She pointed to her cell phone screen.

He followed her gaze to the cell phone screen. Three forty-five. Three forty-five p.m., not a.m. but still… Warmth spread through him, taking hold. Twelve years ago, he’d let Delaney down, but this time he’d been there for her.