The Sheriff (21 page)

“That’s ridiculous. I don’t know anyone around here and even if I did, does it really make sense to want to meet me in the middle of nowhere? I would never have agreed to that.” Andrea tried to stand up.

Pete placed his hand on her shoulder, keeping her in the chair. They hadn’t really spoken since the day before, but it didn’t seem to matter. She immediately responded with a deep breath and seemed a little less tense. By Cord’s compressed lips, he hadn’t missed the gesture.

Agent Conrad sat on her hands. Her gaze dropped to her lap. She was busting buttons to keep herself from responding.

“I think Beth is implying that someone told Sharon they were trying to surprise you and not to ask you about it. And no one here thinks she did,” his dad said to Andrea with complete calm.

Absolutely the calmest man he knew, Joe stretched back in his favorite chair, hands behind his neck, ankles crossed under the coffee table. He didn’t seem worried that a woman’s life was in danger. The others in the room might misinterpret his calmness for not caring, but Pete knew different.

In that moment, the clarity of how his father had been over twenty-five years ago smacked into Pete. Calm and rational. Two things his father had always been. He would have been no different confronting a murderer and promising that man his son wouldn’t face the same fate.

He would have meant every word. And then kept his word. And he had. The price just might be the expense of his entire career.

There was nothing Pete could do at the moment to help his dad. He caught his hands slipping toward Andrea’s shoulders and pulled them away, tucking them into his pockets before taking a step back. He glanced around the room. Only Cord had a disapproving frown on his face.

Andrea popped up and went to the window. “I just need to get to a bank to withdraw the three thousand dollars.”

“Why that amount?” Agent Conrad asked. “Does it strike anyone else as an odd amount for a ransom? I mean, it’s not an overly large sum. Many would have that in their bank account.”

“It’s not a problem for me to pay.”

“Why do you think it’s a low amount?” Cord rose and guided Andrea away from the windows.

Her long sigh assured everyone in the room just how tired she was of being kept safe. Pete knew she was ready for the forced protective custody to be over. “Shouldn’t we get started? It takes forever to get from place to place around here.”

Cord swiped a hand over the bottom half of his face. “Nick’s bringing extra horses and will help with the tracking—if necessary. We’re leaving from here, Andrea.”

“When? I need to change and then get to the bank.”

“Cord brought the ransom. You’re not going,” Pete stated, again waiting for someone to tell him different. He knew the bomb would be dropped. Just not by whom.

“What do you mean?” Andrea marched toward him, sticking her hands on her hips, ready to do battle. “Of course I’m going. I have to go. They won’t release Sharon if I don’t.”

“No. Agent Conrad’s going in your place.” He could try. They all knew why she’d stayed in Marfa even if no one said it out loud. She was the bait. But he could try to keep her out of the frying pan.

“Um, Pete,” Cord interrupted.

At the same time, Beth Conrad shook her head. “I’m not sure that’s wise.”

Pete had made a decision. He no longer cared about being politically correct or following orders or whose orders needed to be considered. “My job is to make sure this woman stays safe. That’s not going to happen taking her into a trap. We all know it’s a trap. The responsible thing is to have her stay with my dad.”

He wanted to be the one to stay with her, protect her, make love to her again. But safe with his dad and a couple of trusted ranch hands would have to do.

“The responsibility isn’t yours,” Andrea stated firmly. “You know what my father already decided.”

“I don’t know how to ride a horse,” Beth Conrad mumbled behind him.

“She’ll be safer with us,” Cord said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “We can’t do this without her.”

He shrugged out from under the hand of the official leader of the task force. “This is a joke. Plain and simple. What you really mean to say is that Andrea’s father has already decided she should go. Does he have a death wish for his daughter?”

A red haze seemed to tint the entire front room. Pete’s blood pumped loudly through his veins while he concentrated on relaxing the tightness in his chest. Nick’s truck and trailer turned onto the driveway. They’d be leaving soon. All of them.

Overruled again. At least he’d made his objections well-known.

“Nothing good’s gonna come from this. Nothing.” He slammed out the screen door, taking a deep breath, surprised at how betrayed he felt. “Acting sheriff or actual sheriff. Makes no difference when no one listens to a word you say.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

They were on their way to rescue Sharon and had officially crossed over onto the Burke family ranch. Andrea had won and was with the rescue party. It was obvious to her that every person around her disagreed with the decision. No argument needed. Her father had left instructions that if the opportunity presented itself, she’d take an active role and try to lead them to the murderers.

So here she sat, sure to be saddle sore tomorrow even though the riding wasn’t that difficult. Pete, Cord and the DEA agent—maybe even Joe—all considered her the weakest link. She knew that. The new guy who’d brought the extra horses, Nick, had raised a ruckus about bringing either woman.

None of them would allow her to carry a weapon. Ironically, her father had probably had a gun in her hands earlier than any of them. Well, maybe with the exception of Pete since Joe didn’t have a wife telling him not to teach his son anything and everything.

The DEA agent tugged at the reins again, upsetting the beautiful sorrel she rode. Beth would be lucky if the mare didn’t buck her off just to escape the woman’s obvious inexperience. Then where would Sharon’s rescue be?

“Loosen your grip and she’ll follow the trail just fine,” Nick Burke said to Agent Conrad.

“You’re kidding me, right?” the agent replied, jerking the reins to the side. They continued arguing, exchanging little digs back and forth. Some under their breath, but mostly not.

“This will never work.” Andrea was furious but kept her voice low enough for just Pete to hear her. “Agent Conrad might be the same height, but stuffing her hair into a hat won’t fool anyone that she’s me. She doesn’t even know how to sit a horse. It’s obvious to everyone she’s petrified of the animal. It’s old, as slow as Christmas, and she’s still having trouble controlling it.”

“We’ll get there in time.” Pete stayed calm and relaxed in the saddle.

In the week she’d known him, anxiety rarely showed through his controlled exterior. Stressful situations seemed to make him even more laid-back. He watched, waited.

And she was just the opposite. The more frustrated or excited she became, the more questions she asked. And at the moment she was very anxious for Sharon’s benefit.

“What if they’re watching us right now? I mean, anyone can tell she’s not me.”

He took a long look at Andrea’s outfit. She knew exactly what he was thinking. They’d gone to great lengths to make her look like a guy, even setting her on a smaller, shorter horse so she’d look larger. The oversize Western hat on her head stayed in place with a leather tie.

“They don’t know you’re the one who can ride a horse. We’re not certain they know about Agent Conrad being here at all. Keep your eyes open.”

Beth Conrad’s horse whinnied loudly and began dancing in circles. They’d never make it to the rendezvous point at this rate. Pete brought his horse closer. It was the first time since their task force meeting that the frown on his face had relaxed.

“Andrea, we won’t be able to stop them from taking you. Do you know that?” The concern on his face broke her heart.

It should have frightened her.

“Cord informed Dad’s team. They’re tracking me. It’ll be okay.” As hard as it was to say the words, it was harder to believe them while she looked at the worry on Pete’s face. He hadn’t smiled all day and probably shouldn’t, but she missed it. Missed the man who had teased her to nervous, unending babble.

Pete leaned in close, tugging her even closer. If anyone had fallen for her outfit before, her cover was totally blown when his lips devoured hers. Excitement returned even with the cautioning clearing of Cord’s throat.

“I know you think you have to go through with this, but you don’t.” Pete let his horse put a couple of feet between them.

“He’s right,” Cord added. “Say the word and we’re heading back at a full gallop. There’s no guarantee that Sharon will be released.”

“But there’s a chance.”

Nick tried to help Beth by jumping off his horse and soothing the older mare.

“Very slim,” Pete said.

“I have to do this. And we all know the real objective is to find their camp and the men responsible. We’ll put a stop to the murders and find Sharon.”

Pete exchanged a glance with Cord, making her feel naive. Well, maybe she was, but she had to try catching the person responsible for Logan’s death.

“Remember what we said. Try to keep an idea of where you are. Landmarks, if you cross water, sounds like a train or lots of people.” Pete rubbed her back. “If I can’t stop you, just remember that I’m not far behind. I
will
find you. Got that?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t be a hero, Andrea. Just do what they say. Please,” Pete whispered.

“If things don’t go according to plan, just listen to us and do what we say. Okay?” Cord added. “You ready, Nick?”

Before Nick could respond, Beth exploded with confidence behind them. “I can do this!” But a loud crack sounding like a single gunshot echoed through the mountains, giving their horses a different opinion. While the rest of them regained control, Beth’s old mare bolted into the open area toward the wider end of the ravine.

“Dammit, she’s lost control of the reins,” Cord said, rising straighter in his saddle as if he could see more than a runaway horse carrying away their bait.

“I’ll get her,” Nick exclaimed, taking off before anyone could object. “Don’t wait for us.”

“You want to wait here?” Pete asked. “Or do we turn around and forget this farce?”

“We can’t.” Andrea could only think of her mission. The shadows were growing long behind them as the sun sank lower on the other side of the mountains. “We have to keep going for Sharon.”

She shoved the hat off her head, letting the leather string dig a little into her throat as the wind caught it like a sail behind her. She tussled her short hair around, fluffing it a bit to let anyone watching know it was her. Pete was still close so she leaned and kissed him with all the passion she could. He kissed her back and looked stunned when she sat in her saddle again.

“We have to find Sharon.” She kicked her horse and took the lead, trotting up the trail they’d been following.

“Andrea! Wait!” Pete shouted. “What are you doing?”

Both men called for her to stop. She would, just as soon as she got over the next rise and it was too late to follow the DEA agent whose horse was still galloping in the opposite direction. She clicked to her own mare, kicking her sides just a little to get her to break the trotting motion. The path was smooth and level enough for a short, steady lope.

She topped the rise, slowing and coming face-to-face with six armed men. Horses and ATVs and gun barrels. No Sharon in sight. Her escort was several seconds behind her.

It was the trap Pete had anticipated. She’d been so determined—or stubborn—to save the young college student that she’d disregarded all the men’s warnings. Midway in turning her horse around to get back to safety, a man leaped out and grabbed her waist. They fell to the ground and rolled, lucky four hooves didn’t trample them. She kicked out, threw an elbow in the soft spot under his rib cage, but he held tight.

Nothing deterred him. They ended up with him on the ground, her on top of him. He slapped a dirty hand over her mouth tightly so she couldn’t shout out and warn the men. She kept throwing punches until another man put his boot on her stomach and pointed his gun at her head.

“That’s far enough,” the man holding the gun said. “Throw your weapons to the ground. We don’t want any death today.”

At first, Andrea thought he was talking to her. Then she realized that Pete and Cord had topped the hill.

“Let her go,” Pete shouted.

“We have your money. Where’s the girl?” Cord’s weapon was still holstered.

Pete moved, his eyes searching hers. They both knew that these men weren’t there for a hostage exchange. They were there to abduct the daughter of the man in charge of border patrol.

The man holding Andrea released her to two others, who quickly yanked her to her feet and zip-tied her wrists behind her. Pete began to swing his leg over the back of his horse to dismount, but the man with the gun shoved it in her back, tsking.

Pete cursed and kept his seat.

“I’ll be okay.” She answered his unasked question. Her father would certainly be tracking her, but she could see the determination in Pete’s eyes that he’d find her no matter what the cost. She knew he’d keep his promise.

Countless times she told herself to expect this scenario, yet it was still frightening. They wanted her alive, otherwise they would have shot them all earlier. Why was the million-dollar question that her father and the DHS needed answered.

The men half lifted, half dragged her to an empty ATV.

“Wait. Isn’t there some deal we can make?” Pete asked.

“Don’t you want your money?” Cord shouted.

“You keep your pittance. The women are worth a lot more to me. We’ll get more for not taking your money.” The one pointing the gun laughed at their attempt. He straddled the ATV in front of her. “You can get off your horses now.”

Two other men on horseback pointed their guns at Cord and Pete, waiting for them to follow instructions. The weapons they’d dropped earlier had already been picked up. They bent low against their own horses, grabbing the lawmen’s fallen reins and leading them away.