Bucking The Odds (Dancing Moon Ranch Book 9)

by Patricia Watters

  "Right now you can't go anyplace where we can’t contact you," Mario said, "Federal and state indictments have been handed up against Joseph DeLuca and over a dozen of his key crime-family members, and Sal is our star witness who can topple the family, but Billy still might have to testify, which means returning her to the danger zone."

  "Since her brother-in-law agreed to tell all, why would Billy be called in?" Jeremy asked.

  "Because credible witnesses are needed to convince jurors that the witness isn't giving false testimony against his enemies to get back at them. Even though Sal Bianchi didn't pull the trigger that put two holes in the back of a man's skull, he was in on it, and when he admits it in court, because he's protected against prosecution now, Billy's corroboration could make the difference between a conviction and an acquittal. A single testimony from a credible witness is sometimes all it takes to put fifteen or twenty people behind bars."

  "A minute ago you said we could only communicate with our families through your switchboard. Why couldn't we buy cell phones for one-time usage and throw them away afterwards?" Jeremy asked.

  "Because you'd be endangering your family," Mario replied. "The mob has the connections, the know-how, and the equipment to bug lines and trace calls. They could already have your name from the video and they're smart enough to pose as an old friend and ask your family members if they'd heard from you, and pin you to Billy, so you need to think about that before you make a decision to go forward with this."

  "If the mob can tap lines, then you must be able to listen in on their conversations too and find out what they're planning," Jeremy said.

  "We have wiretaps everywhere, and hours of conversations," Mario replied, "but wiseguys know it, so they talk in code. They don't carry out a hit contract, they do the thing. They don't shark a guy out of his business or bust up the place so they can collect protection money, they get the job done. No names mentioned. So our taps rarely give us enough information to act on it, which is why we need informants."

  "What about savings and social security earnings?" Jeremy asked. "I'm willing walk away from mine, but the money I've saved could be passed on to my family so one of them could buy this place and hold it for later."

  "Not an option," Mario said. "As for accounts, we create accounts in your new name and roll everything over into it. All paperwork has a judicial trail to true identification records, which are recorded and sealed in the D.C. federal court, which also means you won't have any credit history so you have to start from scratch."

  Jeremy dropped his hand from around Billy and offered it to Mario, and said, "I understand clearly what's involved, and I still want to go forward with marrying Billy and leaving with her."

  Mario looked down at Jeremy's hand, and replied, "U.S. Marshals don't make deals, but if you get married right away I'll start the ball rolling with the Justice Department."

  Jeremy retracted his hand and put it around Billy's shoulders again, and said, "Maybe when you do you could set aside your preconceived notion that I'd be an added burden and look at me as someone who'd also take a bullet for Billy if it came to that."

  Mario gave Jeremy a half smile, which Billy took as his way of taking Jeremy aboard and actually putting his own stamp of approval on him, which would pretty much ensure that Jeremy would be accepted into the program, if they got married, and that was a big if. Even though marrying Jeremy was the one thing that could make her life seem fulfilled right now, she knew she couldn't allow him to sever ties with the family he loved and never see them again. She wouldn't be able to live with that burden.

  Mario reached into his inside pocket and pulled out a card and handed it to Jeremy and said, "If you're not just bullshitting and you intend to go through with this, here's where I can be reached, but you'd better get your ass in gear fast because we'll be moving Billy and her father out as soon as the relocation paperwork's done." Looking at Billy, he added, "Meanwhile, don't go anywhere." That said, he turned and let himself out.

  As Billy stood in the open doorway watching Mario's SUV driving off, Jeremy stepped up behind her, and said, "I thought marshals were supposed to be courteous with the good guys."

  "You have to understand Mario Moretti," Billy replied. "He's the closest thing the Feds have to a thug on the right side of the law. He grew up in a neighborhood where the mob was in charge, and as a teen he hung out with wiseguy types and learned all about how they operate. Then his sister witnessed a mob hit and was taken into the witness protection program, and after that, Mario joined the FBI instead of the mob. But growing up among them gave him insight into how they think, and the extent to which they'll go to get what they want."

  "How long was his sister in the program?" Jeremy asked.

  "Twenty-five years, and she's still there," Billy replied. "She's older than Mario by seven or eight years, and she never married and is living sort of like a recluse on a ranch somewhere."

  While Billy continued to stand with her back to Jeremy while watching the SUV fade into the distance, Jeremy took her by the shoulders and turned her around, and said, "Honey, I love you and I'm serious about us getting married. Maybe I am being a white knight, but I don't want to lose you, and I don't want you going off without me, but you haven't said anything about it."

  "That's because I'm not going to marry you," Billy said.

  Jeremy looked at her long and hard, and she knew he was sizing up her true feelings, which he verified by saying, "Before we go any further with this, answer one thing. Do you love me?"

  It came to Billy that after all the lies she'd passed on to Jeremy up until he learned the truth, lying now should be easy, but she couldn't do it anymore. "Yes, I love you," she replied, "which is why I can't let you do this. You can't just up and walk out on your family and quit your job and give up your college degree. You're also close to making the National Finals cut, and you've been working years for that. Later you'd realize what you'd walked away from and you couldn't help but feel bitter about it, but you'd pretend it didn't matter, and I'd know it did, and I'd feel guilty for putting you in that position. It just wouldn't work."

  When Billy stood with her hands at her sides and made no attempt to put her arms around Jeremy, he bent over and kissed her, and said, "This isn't over. I have some things to do this afternoon but I'll be back later to work out the details."

  He stepped around her, but as he walked toward his truck, Billy called after him, "There are no details to work out. You can't marry me if I don't say 'I do.'"

  "You'll say I do," Jeremy called back, then got into his truck and drove off.

  Billy felt a stab of anger because Jeremy was so insistent about this, and the reality had not yet settled in. It would over the next few days, when he realized exactly how much he'd be giving up, and if it hadn't settled in by then, he'd be reminded again by Mario Moretti if, he in fact, started the paperwork for Jeremy to enter the program. But if Jeremy managed to get through that process and was still determined to marry her and leave with her, then he'd face the real test. Telling his mother, his father, and the rest of his family goodbye forever.

  CHAPTER 14

  Jeremy flagged Josh down as he left the stable after taking care of the trail horses. "I need to talk to you," he said. "It's serious and some decisions have to be made right away."

  Josh looked at him in alarm. "You must have found out what's going with Billy. You want to go to your place to talk?"

  "No, yours. Genie needs to be in on this too since both of you will be involved indirectly, but we don't have much time, and a lot of things have to be taken care of quickly."

  "Oh man," Josh said, as they headed toward the bunkhouse. "You sound like you're going away somewhere."

  "I am," Jeremy replied.

  "Where?"

  "I don't know."

  Josh stopped abruptly and stared at Jeremy. "You're running away with Billy, aren't you?"

  "We'll talk inside," Jeremy said, while taking Josh's arm and nudging him toward hi
s place. "And Ryan needs to be in on it too. Is he around?"

  "He's in the stable," Josh said. "I'll get him."

  A couple minutes later, Josh returned with Ryan, who said to Jeremy, "What's the problem?"

  "Let's go inside," Jeremy said.

  When they stepped into the bunkhouse, Genie came from the direction of Abby's room, and seeing the three of them, all with serious faces, said to Josh, "Honey, what's wrong?"

  Jeremy raised his hand, and said, "All of you better sit down while I explain."

  After Genie and Josh were settled together on the couch, and Ryan was standing behind them, Jeremy said to Josh, "I haven't been up to the site for a couple of weeks, but how close to being finished are the stock pens?"

  "Basically they're done," Josh replied. "The stock barn's finished, and I have some bucking chutes scheduled for delivery this week, so all we need are animals."

  "That's good because you're about to get Billy's animals, including Wild Card and Vortex."

  "She's selling?" Josh asked.

  "No, you'll be getting them on loan for now," Jeremy replied. "You'd be free to breed the bulls with any cows you get, and you can work all the bulls with the electronic dummy and enter them in rodeos because the titles would be transferred into your name. You could even continue the buckouts here if you want."

  "Tell us what's really going on," Josh said. "Billy isn't giving away her stock for nothing."

  "Okay then, here's the way things are…"

  After Jeremy finished explaining, Ryan said, "Wait! Let me get this straight. You're leaving with Billy and changing your names to ones we can't trace, and going someplace inaccessible to us, and maybe be gone… indefinitely?"

  "That's about the sum of it," Jeremy said.

  "What about Mom?" Ryan asked. "You know what she went through when Marc was gone. She'll slip into another depression, and Dad will have to put his life on hold to take care of her. And there's Grandma... You can't just walk out like this."

  Genie, who'd said nothing until now, said to Jeremy, "We all like Billy, and I can understand your attraction to her, but you're about to make a drastic change in your life for a woman you've known less than a month."

  "It's long enough to know, without doubt, that I want to do this," Jeremy replied. "We'll be able to write letters to the family and talk on the phone through a special switchboard. It's not like we'll be cut off completely, but I can't worry about that right now because first I need to know if you'll take the cattle. Mario Moretti, the guy who looks like a hit man, is the U.S. Marshal assigned to Billy and her father. He said Billy could keep her horses as long as we stay away from rodeos. So, what's the deal? Will you take her animals?"

  "Sure, I'll take them," Josh said, "but you need to give this more thought and not rush into things. You could write letters and talk to Billy on the phone and join her later."

  "We need to start moving cattle right away," Jeremy said, determined to stay on track. "With Matt's big stock trailer we should be able to move them in four loads."

  "You're not listening," Josh said.

  "No, you're not listening," Jeremy replied. "Think of it this way. If Genie was at the wrong place at the wrong time and she saw something bad happen, and she and Abby suddenly had to go into witness protection because of it, would you go with them, or stay behind for the sake of Mom and Dad and the family?"

  Josh stared silently at Jeremy for several seconds, then he looked at Genie, and covering her hand with his, he said, "I get your point."

  "What's going to happen to Billy's place?" Ryan asked.

  "The Feds are going to take it back," Jeremy replied. "Billy wants to keep it because she likes it here, and she's made friends and will have family when we marry, but Mario Moretti said keeping her place isn't an option, so it's going back to the Feds."

  "Then you do plan to come back here," Ryan said.

  "Yes, if it's ever safe to return," Jeremy replied.

  "Then Annie and I will hold a piece of land for you," Ryan said. "You can have a four-hundred acre chunk that butts up to Josh and Genie's place so you and Josh would have adjoining ranches and be able to interbreed your animals. There's also ranch road access to a good spot for building a house with a view of Steen's Mountain."

  Jeremy looked at Ryan, who was clearly serious about the offer, then at Josh, who was waiting in anticipation, and said to Ryan, "Then I'll pass on to you the money I have in my savings as a down payment, and when we get back here someday, I'll pay off the rest."

  Ryan rapped Jeremy on the shoulder, and said, "No down payment needed. The land will be here when you get back."

  "It's a deal," Jeremy said, knowing they were talking pipe dreams because Mario Moretti gave no indication that they'd ever be returning, but it would be a tie to the place, which would give his family hope that he'd be rejoining them someday. "Then I guess we'd better talk to Matt about moving stock."

  When Jeremy told Matt what was going on, and about moving the stock, Ruth and Annie were present, and as expected, Jeremy got the same reaction from the three of them as he had from Ryan, Josh and Genie, but he didn't have time to address all their concerns, but instead, left to go to his place and contact Mario Moretti about getting things started.

  To Jeremy's surprise, Mario acted as if he'd expected the call. He also seemed open to the idea, so he set up an appointment to meet him and Billy the following day at the federal building in Portland, where the district headquarters for the witness protection program was located. Mario would drive them in his SUV to Burns, where a U.S. Marshals Service plane would fly them to Portland for the meeting.

  After talking to Mario, Jeremy left for Billy's place. If she had any doubt about his determination to marry her and join the program, she'd soon learn that he was dead serious.

  On arriving at Billy's place he was met at the door by Bill, who said, "Come in Jeremy. We need to talk." It was the first time Bill had addressed him by his name, or even acknowledged him. Until Billy's sister arrived, Bill had posed as a wrangler and kept to himself. Now he was about to state his position as Billy's father, and he'd be looking out for what he perceived to be Billy's best interest, but Jeremy intended to state his position first.

  "Before you say anything, Dr. Fuller," he started in, "you need to know that I intend to marry Billy. I'm not asking for your permission, only your blessing. I'll be with her for the rest of her life so you can rest easy that after you're gone, presuming you go before me, you'll have the assurance that I'll be doing everything in my power to take care of her and protect her from harm. I will not let either of you down. Billy probably told you she doesn't want to marry me, but she's lying. She said that because she wants to do what's right for me, but what's right for me is to marry her and get into the program and make sure she's looked after."

  As he studied the man's face more closely, Jeremy saw that he wasn't as old as he appeared, though the unkempt gray hair and worried eyes made him seem older, but now he would place the man in his mid to late fifties. His eyes were clear, intense and fixed on him.

  "Over the past month you've proved how you feel about Billy, so I'm behind you in this," Bill said.

  "Well, I'm not," Billy's voice came from down the hallway. "I was sleeping and didn't hear the beginning of this conversation, but I'm not marrying you," she said to Jeremy, "It's not right."

  Jeremy walked up to Billy, and placing his hands on her shoulders, he said, "Honey, tell me you don't love me."

  "You're getting off track," Billy replied. "Whether or not I love you isn't the issue. We're talking about getting married, and it's just wrong under these circumstances."

  "Billy, I'm not letting you off the hook," Jeremy said. "Tell me you don't love me."

  Tears welled in Billy's eyes, and her lips twitched, and when she started blinking rapidly Jeremy took her in his arms and held her, and said, "You can't say it, can you?"

  Billy shook her head and said nothing, but she put her arms around his waist, so Je
remy continued by saying, "Mario Moretti made an appointment to meet us at the federal courthouse in Portland tomorrow, and we will be there. Josh already agreed to take the cattle. The pens at his place are ready, and he and I can haul the animals in Matt's stock trailer."

  "You need to cancel that appointment," Billy said. "I still won't marry you because you can't do this to your folks. Annie told me about your brother, Marc, being gone for four years, and how upset your mother was."

  "The circumstances behind Marc's leaving were different," Jeremy said. "Marc left in anger and Mom thought she'd ruined his life, and that's why she was depressed, but with my leaving, she'll know I love her and the family but have to leave because if I don't, I'll spend the rest of my life regretting it, so she'll understand. As your husband I could also help round out your life. You haven't been making friends because you have a past you can't talk about and a new life that doesn't ring true, but together we can take whatever past the marshals give us and build a future that will be ours. As for my mom and my family, we’ll phone them and send letters and photos. I don't believe this will be forever. Maybe in a few years we can come home."

  Billy brushed away a tear that had trailed down her cheek, and said, "You have no idea what it's like becoming a different person. It's like you're two people. The person you were has one set of friends and family, and the person you've become has a family that doesn't exist and another set of friends that only know you as that person, which is a person you never feel right being. It's exactly the way Mario said, like you're an actor in a play that will run the rest of your life."

  "Okay then, we'll be actors for a little while," Jeremy said. "Once we're settled we'll make friends, and from then on everything will be real. People don't spend that much time talking about their pasts."

  Billy raised watery eyes to Jeremy, and said, in a cheerless voice, "I suppose you could always leave the program if you wanted."

  Which, Jeremy realized, was tantamount to her telling him she'd marry him. Holding her uncertain gaze, he said, "When I leave the program it will be with you at my side as my wife." He started to give her a kiss, but glancing beyond Billy he caught himself up short when he saw Bill, and realized he'd forgotten the man was present.