Texas…Now and Forever (14 page)

“You should be okay if only Del Brio shows,” Tyler muttered, dragging his forearm across his
forehead. “If he brings more than one or two others with him, things could get dicey. Sure you don't want one of us to go along with you?”

“I can't risk it.”

Flynt clapped a hand on his shoulder. “We won't be more than a radio call away. I've got my chopper fueled and ready. Once we know the target area, Justin will mobilize his Air Ops Branch. The C.O.'s lined up military air out of Corpus Christi. The FBI's ready to roll. One signal from you, and we're on Del Brio like dirt on a dog.”

“The C.O.? You read Colonel Westin in on this?”

“I did. He's flying in this afternoon. Should be here anytime now.”

Luke's pulse kicked up a few notches. Once their old commanding officer arrived on the scene, they'd come close to constituting a team again. The only one missing was Ricky Mercado.

“Anyone seen or heard from Ricky since his father was hit?” Luke asked.

“No,” Spence replied. “He dropped completely out of sight. My guess is he's either cut his losses and run or he's hunting Del Brio himself.”

“There's a third option we have to consider,” Luke reminded them. “According to Haley, Frank doesn't trust the son any more than the father. He might have taken Ricky out.”

For Haley's sake, he hoped he was wrong. As strong as she was, even Haley might break under the strain of losing another of her family.

The need to protect her blazed fierce and hot. She'd suffered enough. Endured enough. Luke was damned if he'd let anyone hurt her again.

“Move back down to the lake, Spence. I want more practice with this radar unit.”

 

Haley had thought the waiting was bad before. The twenty-four hours following Frank's e-mail left both her nerves and her patience as thin and as brittle as new ice.

The presence of Luke's friends helped. Some. The men refused to display anything but calm confidence. Their wives were warm and supportive. Gradually, Haley got to know the women and they, in turn, came to understand the stress she'd lived with for so many years.

Phillip Westin's arrival late that afternoon provided a welcome distraction. Tall, lean and leather-tough, the marine colonel reminded Haley instantly of a middle-aged Clint Eastwood. She couldn't help but notice how his former troops squared their shoulders, sucked in their stomachs and peppered their conversation with “Yes, sir” and “No, sir” whenever they addressed him.

After demanding to know how the heck this bunch of “jar heads” had wound up with such smart, beautiful women, Westin got right down to business. For the rest of the day and a good part
of the next, the entire group gathered around the kitchen table, reviewing possible scenarios, postulating potential actions, dissecting every conceivable response.

Frank finally sent the ransom delivery instructions that hot Wednesday evening. They came in the form of another e-mail, short and to the point.

“Hell,” Tyler muttered, peering over Luke's shoulder. “That's less than an hour from now. You and Haley will have to make tracks to reach the designated rendezvous by seven.”

“We'll reach it,” Luke vowed. “You guys just take care of the satellite coverage of the area and get the aircraft in the air.”

“Will do, buddy.” He squeezed his friend's shoulder. “Good luck.”

Her heart pounding, Haley accepted a round of fierce hugs from both the men and the women. She couldn't speak, could barely breathe as the team sprang into action like a well-oiled military machine.

L
uke's years with OP-12 had taught him that there was only one absolute certainty when it came to field operations.

If something could go wrong, it would.

There was no way to plan for every contingency. No way to account for every variable. Yet he tried to cover as many as possible with Haley during the long, tense drive to the designated site.

“There'll still be some daylight left when we get there. That's good for Frank, not as good for us.”

“I know.”

“Del Brio may have checkpoints set up. If so, one of his men will pat you down for weapons.”

“I know.”

Haley stared straight ahead, her palms clammy on the steering wheel of Luke's pickup. The big, heavy truck was dusty, utilitarian and fitted with sheets of steel inside the door panels. Tyler and Flynt had rigged the shields themselves.

“If there's any exchange of fire while we're in
the vehicle, you hit the deck. Got that, Haley? You go down and stay down.”

She dragged her tongue over dry lips. “I've got it.”

“Once we're on the scene, we'll both exit the vehicle. Odds are Frank will instruct you to walk toward him with the briefcase, but you don't take a step until you see Lena. Once we've established her exact position and are sure she's not in the line of fire, you go forward. At an angle.”

“I know.”

“Whatever happens, don't get between me and Del Brio.”

Biting on her lower lip, Haley forced down a rush of hot, bitter nausea. She understood how important it was to maintain a clear field for Luke's radar scanner to pinpoint Frank's position. She also understood that the same clear field gave Frank an unobstructed shot at Luke.

She'd already decided she wouldn't let Frank take that shot. He'd destroyed her family, murdered her mother, almost killed her father. God only knew where her brother was now. She wouldn't, couldn't, let Del Brio destroy Luke, too.

That resolve deepened with every mile the traveled along Farm Road 1306. Sensing how tightly strung she was, Luke had her read the odometer
out loud, marking each mile from the turnoff, then every tenth of a mile along the two-lane dirt road.

“Eight point one,” she read, wrenching her gaze from the road that cut straight as an arrow through range land dotted with creosote and mesquite.

“Eight point two.”

“What time is it?”

“Seven. We're late.”

“Just keep going. Tell me what you see.”

“Nothing. No cattle. No horses. No houses. Just miles of barbed-wire fence on both sides of the road. Whoever owns this patch of south Texas hasn't put the land to use.”

“That's no doubt why Frank chose it. What's the odometer reading?”

“Eight point four.”

“Look down the road. See anything?”

“No!” Her stomach roiling, she slowed the truck and read off the last two increments. “Eight point five. Eight point six.”

She stood on the brakes. The pickup fishtailed to a stop in the middle of the road.

“There's no one here!”

“Look around. Any hills or trees they could be parked behind, watching our approach?”

Her nerves screaming, she scanned the flat terrain. “No. Nothing bigger than an anthill. All I can see is scrub and— Oh, my God!”

Frantic, she scrabbled for the door handle. Luke wrapped an iron fist around her arm and yanked her down in her seat.

“Talk to me! Tell me what you see.”

“There's something caught on the upper strand of the fence just to my left. At first glance, I thought it was a dead animal, but I think… Oh, Luke, I'm sure! It's the stuffed rabbit Lena was holding in the picture Frank e-mailed. And there's a note pinned to it!”

She made another lunge for the door. Once again he hauled her back. “It could be a booby trap.”

Instantly sobered, Haley gave him her full attention.

“We'll get out of the truck on my side,” he told her. “We take one step at a time. Only one. You'll have to be my eyes.”

“Tell me what to look for.”

“Depressions in the dirt. Trip wires. A light beam. A pile of grass. Broken creosote branches.”

By the time they got within five feet of the stuffed toy, the sleeveless cotton blouse Ellen had brought Haley was damp with sweat. She shook so hard she could barely read the note. “It says to turn right at the next intersection, go twenty-two miles north, head west on 329 to an abandoned farmhouse. We've got thirty minutes to get there.”

Luke pushed out a long breath and reached for
the cell phone in his shirt pocket. One click activated the Voice Recognition System and brought his team up on the net.

“Look like Frank is going to send us chasing across half of Texas.” Swiftly, he repeated the instructions Haley had just read. “Get a satellite lock on the abandoned farmhouse. We're on the way there now.”

Snapping the phone shut, he took Haley's elbow. She should have been the one steering him back to the truck, but he gave her as much or more support than she gave him.

 

They found another note at the farmhouse, this one directing them to a phone booth at a gas station halfway to San Angelo. Dusk crept across the rolling hills as the pickup sped across Texas. Early stars glowed bright in the lavender sky. Haley didn't spare the sky more than a glance. She kept her eyes on the road ahead and the accelerator hard against the floorboard.

They reached the gas station a good ten minutes ahead of the specified time. Leaving the keys in the ignition, she climbed out and waited for Luke to come around to join her.

“Can you see the booth?”

“Yes.”

“Describe it to me.”

“It's an open cubicle, with graffiti scrawled all over it. There's no note stuck to it. No note anywhere.”

“Go stand on the other side of the truck.”

“Why?”

“I want to see if the phone's working.”

“You think Frank might have rigged it with explosives?”

“No, I don't. I think he's going to call in a few minutes with more instructions. Just to be safe, though, I want to check out the phone before it rings. Tell me when you're behind the truck.”

Haley didn't move. “No, Luke.”

“No what?”

“I won't let you take any more risks.” Sick with fear for both him and her baby, she fought to keep her voice level. “I shouldn't have come running to you the way I did. I panicked and didn't think things through. I'm the one Frank contacted. I'm the one he wants revenge on. He won't hurt Lena or you if he has me.”

“Yeah, well, what Frank wants and what he gets are—”

“Listen to me, Luke. I'm telling you there's been a change in tactics. If Frank is planning a snatch and run, as you and Tyler and the others seem to think, I intend to let him know right up
front that I'll go with him voluntarily. My only condition is that he leaves Lena with you.”

She expected him to get all macho and blast her with a dozen different arguments. Instead, he folded his arms and let the summer night swirl hot and dusty around them.

“Just out of curiosity, when did you decide on this change in tactics?”

“A while ago.”

“When, Haley?”

“Look, it's been building inside me for the past couple days, okay? The guilt. The fear. The worry that I've dragged you into the same pit my family got dragged into. I can't do it, Luke. I can't let Frank destroy you, too.”

“It's been building inside me, too,” he said quietly. “The guilt because I wasn't there when you and Lena needed me. The fear that I can't protect either of you. The worry that I might lose you again.”

Trailing his knuckles along her cheek until he found her nape, he pulled her forward.

“I'm breaking all the rules here, Haley. This isn't the time or the place for this. But yesterday morning, when it didn't seem to matter to you that I might never fully regain my sight, it made me think… Made me realize… Oh, hell, I'm not any good at this.”

Haley's pulse tripped. For a moment the dust-streaked glass of the phone booth blurred. The stars faded. The night sky became a backdrop. Her entire being focused on the man standing in front of her.

“Any good at what?”

“Telling a woman that I love her.”

When she didn't answer, a small, wry smile played at one corner of his mouth.

“Like I said, I'm breaking all the rules here. The last thing I should do is add to your stress. I don't expect you to feel the same. Nor do I expect you to think about this right now. I just want you to understand why I can't step aside and let you do this alone.”

She stood silent for so long, Luke figured she'd taken him at his word and decided not to think about anything but Lena.

“You're right,” she said at last. “This isn't the time or the place for this, but we might not get another. I love you, too, Luke. I've loved you since I was old enough to figure out what Barbie and Ken were up to when they closed the door to her Dream House. You don't have any idea how many times I padded my bras to get you to notice me. Or how many nights I went to bed almost screaming with frustration when you didn't.”

“I noticed, sweetheart. Believe me, I noticed. But you were Ricky's sister and I…”

“I know. You wouldn't cross the line. I did, though. Too many times. I ached for you so much I had to steal one more hour with you that awful night on the lake. I was the one who suggested we go out back at the Saddlebag. I was thrilled when I found out I was pregnant. Knowing my baby would have some of you in her made her doubly precious to me.”

Luke was humbled. Completely humbled. Cupping her cheeks, he bent to express his feelings in the surest, most direct way he knew. The phone jangled before he could do more than graze her lips.

Cursing, he thrust Haley away. “Get around to the other side of the truck.”

“Luke, wait!”

Ignoring her cry, he followed the sound and wrapped his fist around the receiver. “Tell me when you're in position.”

The phone shrilled again.

“Move, Haley. If it rings too many times, he'll get suspicious.”

He heard her take one step, then hesitate. Another jangle cut through the night.

“Move!”

She stomped around to the far side of the pickup, and Luke snatched up the receiver.

 

Luke made the last leg of their journey blind. Literally and figuratively. The road Del Brio directed them to was another two-lane dirt track, with no streetlights to provide enough contrast for Luke to see so much as a shadow. And this time they hadn't been given any instructions about how far to go. They could keep going, Del Brio had sneered, until they were stopped.

The first clue that they were approaching the rendezvous point came via secure radio/phone net.

“The military LanSat network picked up three stationary vehicles,” Colonel Westin reported crisply. “They're in a triangular vector approximately five miles north, six west, and five-point-four south-southeast of your present position.”

“Roger that.”

“Given your heading and the condition of the road, we estimate you'll make contact with the vehicle to the west of you in about ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes. Got it.”

“We'll be just over the horizon. Good hunting, Luke.”

“Thanks, Colonel.”

Snapping the lid down on the phone, he tucked it in his shirt pocket and activated the miniaturized
scanner on his left wrist. The titanium case vibrated violently as the radar wave it sent out bounced off the dash. His nerves dancing in response, Luke raised his arm and aimed the scanner at the windshield. The vibrations died instantly.

Satisfied that there was nothing out there for the radar to pick up, he reached into his boot and slid the snubnose .38 from its ankle holster. Staring into the darkness, he released the cylinder, ran his thumb around the six chambered rounds and closed the weapon with a small snick. He would have preferred the SIG Sauer 9 mm Tyler had fitted with a special scope. After testing several different ways to conceal it, however, he'd opted for the smaller Smith & Wesson.

“We should make contact within the next few minutes.”

Her response was quick and gritty. “I'm ready.”

“We're a team, remember? We're in this together. I want you to promise you won't deliberately place yourself in the line of fire.”

“Luke, I—”

“I can't risk a shot unless I know you and the baby are clear,” he said fiercely. “Don't give him any more advantage than he already has. Promise me, Haley.”

“All right, all right! I promise.”

 

That pledge thundered in Haley's mind when she topped a small rise a few moments later and drove smack into a blaze of light. With a smothered oath, she stomped on the brakes.

Luke was right there beside her, calm but urgent. “What do you see?”

“There's a vehicle parked smack in the middle of the road approximately twenty yards ahead. Its high beams are on. The damned things almost blinded me.”

“Just maneuver the bastard in front of those lights,” Luke said on a note of triumph, “and I won't need any high-tech scanners to get him in my sights.”

His utter confidence gave Haley a badly needed shot in the arm. Maybe, just maybe, they might pull this off. She was shaking when she reached behind her for the ransom money, but not completely mindless with terror.

“Remember the drill,” Luke cautioned as she tugged on the door handle. “We get out together. You stay left. I stay right. Don't take one step until Del Brio produces Lena.”

“I've got it.”

“Here we go.”

Shouldering open the heavy, reinforced door, Haley emerged into the hot Texas night. She heard
the passenger door slam shut, but couldn't see a thing in the glare of the headlights. The thought flashed into her head that she and Luke had reversed roles. The blazing lights blinded her, but would provide just the contrast he needed to make out Frank's silhouette. Assuming they could get Del Brio to step in front of his car, that was.