Lay Down the Law

by Carsen Taite

“I can’t imagine.” Sophia looked at the floor. “You’re hurt and I’m sorry for my part in it.”

  “Is that all you have to say?”

  Sophia shook her head. “I’ve kept these secrets for so long, it’s difficult to let go. You have to believe me. Everything I’ve done was for your protection.”

  “So you left me to be raised by a rich family, thinking I’d be better off? Like money would solve everything. What were you to Cyrus? What was he to you? Did you even care about each other or was I just a mistake you needed to cover up?”

  “I loved your father, but I shouldn’t have. He was married and I was young and impetuous. My brothers tried to control my every move, and I rebelled by having an affair with a man they couldn’t stand.”

  Lily saw the fiery light of passion in Sophia’s eyes when she spoke of her father. She couldn’t recall a time when she’d observed her mother express that same intensity about anything. Maybe it was Sophia’s passion that drove her father to have an affair. She had to know. “Did he love you too?”

  “He did. Everything he did proved it to me.”

  “But he wouldn’t leave my mother to be with you?”

  Sophia shook her head. “It wasn’t that easy.”

  “Love isn’t always easy.” Lily’s mind flashed on an image of Peyton, standing in the old, run-down Craftsman, talking about her dreams of a future family. In that moment she’d felt the first tugs of new love, only to have them ripped away the very next day. No, love wasn’t easy. What right did she have to chastise Sophia for not fighting for it when she’d turned and walked away from love at the first sign of adversity?

  “My brothers, they are bad men. Dangerous men. I agreed to walk away from any chance with your father to save his life and yours. I didn’t want you to grow up in their world.”

  Questions swirled in Lily’s brain, but she didn’t know where to start. What Sophia was describing sounded like a bad telenovela. She tried to piece together a coherent question, but her thoughts were interrupted when the door across the room swung open. Before Lily could process what was happening, a man stepped out and pointed a large handgun at them.

  “Sophia, always the rebel,” he said. “Both of you, over here.” He barked the words and gestured with the gun, motioning them to the far wall, between the filing cabinets.

  “What are you doing here?” Sophia shouted at the man. “I’ve kept my end of the bargain. You need to leave now!”

  Lily looked between them. On some level, Sophia’s bravado was impressive, but shouting at a man with a gun didn’t make much sense. Her own hands were shaking, and terror spiraled down her spine with an icy chill. The man was tall and dark with jet-black hair and deep brown eyes. She glanced at Sophia to confirm her suspicions, but the man did it for her.

  “Sophia, aren’t you going to introduce the girl to her uncle Arturo?”

  My brothers…Dangerous men. Lily closed her eyes. Her father had been right all along. There was nothing about her past worth finding.

  Sophia wasn’t backing down. “Leave, Arturo.”

  “No.” He waved the gun in Lily’s direction. “Her gringo father is breaking his end of the deal, so all bets are off. My regular business is having some difficulties, and I came here for your wonder horse, but I think I’ll take my pretty niece instead.”

  “Where’s Sergio? Did he betray you too or was he too decent to rob his only sister?” Sophia stepped closer to her brother, effectively shielding Lily. “I’ve worked hard for my life. Honest work. Your kind has no place here. Get out.” She pointed to the door.

  Lily watched them with a mixture of fear and confusion. She sensed that deep wounds were at play, but her fear won out over any desire to sort through the family history. She started looking around for a route of escape. The open door across the room was the path to freedom, but to get there, she’d have to be faster than Arturo’s gun, and, as conflicted as she felt about Sophia, she couldn’t leave without her.

  Rather than contemplating escape, Sophia seemed intent on getting in Arturo’s face. She was standing less than a foot from him now, his gun mere inches from her shoulder. Instead of being deterred by the weapon, she appeared to be galvanized by it. She jabbed at Arturo’s chest and shouted, “I gave up everything because of you and Sergio, and I won’t do it again. No amount of safety is worth the price of freedom.”

  Arturo looked flustered, confused at her unwillingness to yield to his authority. His gun was no longer pointed directly at Sophia, but his arm hung by his side as he argued with her. As Lily watched them, Sophia’s daring doused her fear. Maybe between the two of them, they could overpower him. She inched closer, trying to catch Sophia’s eye to signal her intent, but a timid voice from the hall outside the door froze her in place.

  “Arturo, it’s Carmen.”

  Arturo called out to the voice, telling her to come in. Lily had hoped he would turn to look, but he kept his eyes fixed on Sophia. A young woman appeared in the doorway. She looked terrified. Lily knew exactly how she felt, and she also knew this might be their only opportunity to get away from Arturo and his gun. She pointed toward the door and cried out, hoping against hope that her action would cause Arturo to turn away from Sophia for just a second, long enough for them to catch him off guard.

  At the sound of her cry, Arturo did glance at the door, but before Lily could act, the young woman was yanked from the doorway and in her place were strangers wearing black jackets and carrying guns and shouting commands. She whipped her head around and saw Sophia lunge at Arturo’s chest as he lifted his gun into the air. She heard several loud bangs and watched helplessly as Sophia collapsed and Arturo fell forward. Her feet were lead blocks as she pushed her way toward them. She barely made it two steps before she was wrapped in darkness and she sagged to the ground.

  *

  When they were within sight of the property, Dale pulled out her phone and sent a text to Mary, requesting a status. While Dale typed the text, Peyton looked around. There was a house and two buildings, one of which looked like it could be the stables where Arturo had instructed Carmen to go. There was a truck parked in front of the house. She made a note of the license plate and pointed it out to Dale. “Get someone to run that. Maybe it will tell us more about who owns the property.”

  Dale typed another text. “Done, but time’s running out. Mary says Carmen’s on the trail to the stables and she’ll need to get in there on time or risk blowing the whole thing.”

  “What’s the plan?”

  “Carmen goes in, talks to Arturo. Mary fed her some stuff to say about the investigation that’s not public. We wait until she walks out and is clear of the building and then we either grab Arturo here or follow him and pick him up later. Mary’s got a guy in place on the other side of the building and we’re hoping he can find a way to see inside and let us know if Arturo’s alone in there.”

  Peyton sorted through the possibilities. They’d had an arrest warrant for both of the Vargas brothers for a while, but catching them was another matter. To be within striking distance was exhilarating, but a lot could go wrong. She hoped the reward was worth the risk.

  Dale seemed to hear her silent question. “It’s not too late to call this off. This was your plan. It’s your decision.”

  “What would you do?”

  “Carmen may be a civilian, but she got herself into this mess. Arturo has no reason to hurt her, especially since she might be a valuable source of information for him. If anything, he plans to use her to protect his interests. I say this is the closest we’ve come to flushing him out of hiding and we go with it.”

  Peyton knew Dale was right. These decisions were hard for a reason, but they still had to be made. “Okay then. It’s a go.” She pointed toward the house. “We need to make sure that if there is someone in there, they aren’t cover for Arturo, or even worse, some innocent person who might walk into the middle of this. Looks like the front door isn’t visible from the stables. How about you and I check i
t out?”

  “Good idea.”

  Dale sent another text to Mary and then led the way to the front of the house. The big wood door behind the screen door stood wide open, allowing them a full view of the front room of the house. Dale signaled to Peyton to stay on the far side of the door while she looked around. A second later, a tall blond woman appeared on the other side of the door.

  “Can I help you?” she asked.

  Dale started to speak, but Peyton interrupted. “I know you,” she said in a low voice. “You’re the investigator working for Lily Gantry. What are you doing here?”

  “Excuse me?” The woman’s tone was indignant, but quickly changed to curious. “Wait, haven’t we met?”

  Peyton’s gut clenched as her instincts told her something was seriously wrong. What was this woman who’d been working for Lily doing at the home of someone who was probably harboring a dangerous fugitive? Could she have been wrong about Lily being innocent of any knowledge about the Vargases’ connection to Cyrus?

  She had to know. Right now. She fished her memory for the woman’s name. “Skye, who’s in there with you?”

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but no one.”

  Peyton looked at Dale who flashed her badge and said, “We’re coming in. You okay with that?”

  Skye looked at the badge, seemed to consider her options, and then opened the door and waved them in. Once inside, Peyton didn’t waste any time. “I need to know exactly what you’re doing here and I need to know right now.”

  “I can’t tell you that,” Skye said.

  Peyton stepped closer, her hands close enough to throttle Skye if she refused to answer her questions. She heard Dale clear her throat, but she ignored her attempt to get her attention and pressed on. “If Lily’s involved in this, we might be able to help her, but we need to know everything about her connection to the Vargases or I can’t make any promises.”

  She’d said too much, but if Lily was here on some misguided mission for her father, Peyton was desperate to get to her before she traveled too far down that path.

  Skye raised her hands. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Lily is here to meet her mother, Sophia Valencia. That’s all I can tell you and I shouldn’t have told you that much.”

  Of course. Lily had hired Skye to help her track down her birth mother’s family. Peyton felt foolish for thinking Lily might be here for anything other than an innocent purpose, but she still had questions about why Lily’s mother would be connected to the Vargases. She glanced at Dale and could tell she had the same questions. “Where are they?” Peyton asked Skye.

  “They went out to the stables a little while ago.” Skye looked at her watch. “I guess they have a lot to talk about.”

  The words after “they went out to the stables” were a blur. Peyton started to the door, but Dale grabbed her arm and held her back.

  “Wait, we need to check in with Mary first.”

  The next few minutes lurched by as Dale sent a text to Mary and they waited for her to check with the rest of her team to find out what they could about Arturo’s position. When Dale’s phone rang, Peyton jerked with surprise. Dale put Mary on speaker and they listened to her report.

  “Carmen’s ready to go in. It appears Arturo didn’t bring any of his men—he may not know who he can trust at this point. He’s in there in what looks like an office. Problem is, he’s not alone. There are two women with him and he has a gun on one of them.”

  Peyton knew before Mary spoke the words who was with Arturo. She glanced at Dale, whose eyes reflected the same fierce sense of resolve she felt. Mary’s voice burst through the phone. “It’s time, guys. Carmen is ready and so are we. Do we go in?”

  “Take everyone you have and go in now,” Peyton yelled as she took off running.

  *

  Lily clawed at the cloth covering her head and gulped for air. Seconds later, light broke through and she realized she was on the floor of the stable office and she couldn’t move her arms. Frantic to discover the source of her paralysis, she moved her head back and forth until a whispered voice calmed her fear.

  “Shhh, it’s okay. I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

  The voice repeated the refrain, softer with each pass, and Lily closed her eyes and relaxed into what she now recognized was an embrace. She had no idea how much time had passed before the voice asked, “Lily, baby, do you think you can stand?”

  Peyton. Peyton was here, holding her, and she’d never felt more safe in spite of her cloudy memories of what had happened mere moments ago. A man, who’d called himself her uncle, had threatened her. With a gun and…her memories came flooding back, and she jerked out of Peyton’s arms. “Sophia!”

  Peyton pulled her back. “She’s going to be okay.” She pointed across the room where paramedics were loading her onto a stretcher. “The bullet grazed her arm. They’re taking her in, but she should be released tonight.”

  Lily glanced around the room and relived the events of the last half hour. She saw Agent Nelson and a small crowd of other federal agents near Arturo, who was also being loaded onto a stretcher. She gestured in his direction. “Is he…?”

  “He’s alive, but he can’t hurt you,” Peyton said. “As soon as they stitch him up, he’ll be going straight to prison.”

  Lily sighed with relief. She’d thought her life was over, and she still had no idea exactly what had happened to alter that destiny. But Peyton was here now, and she’d never felt safer than she felt in her arms. But as safe as she felt, she remembered how Sophia had stood up to Arturo. “I have to go with her.” Lily tried to stand, but dizziness stopped her halfway there.

  Peyton stood and helped her get her footing. “We’re both going. You’ve had quite a shock and I want to make sure you’re okay.”

  “I’ll take you.”

  Lily looked up to see Skye standing behind Peyton. A flash of memory flooded back, and she realized Skye had been part of the group at the door who’d rushed into the room to save them. “Skye, are you okay?”

  “Not a scratch.” She jerked her head at Agent Nelson and directed her words to Peyton. “I imagine your running buddy is going to be here for a while, but I can take you both to the nearest hospital. You ready to go?”

  Lily watched while Peyton walked over to Agent Nelson and exchanged a few words. Nelson looked up and waved at her and then clapped Peyton on the shoulder. When Peyton came back, she asked, “Everything okay?”

  Peyton answered by pulling her close. “It will be.”

  On the ride to the hospital, Peyton sat next to her in the backseat, and she and Skye filled her in about how they’d wound up at the stables and managed to use Arturo’s own plan to meet with their cooperating witness to distract him from her and Sophia.

  Lily shivered as Peyton told her more about why Arturo Vargas was a wanted man. “I had no idea what was happening. I really thought he was going to kill us both.”

  Peyton grabbed both her hands. “I promise you we had overwhelming force coming through that door. It was dangerous, but when we saw him in there with you both, we had to risk it.” She pulled back a strand of Lily’s hair and stroked her cheek. “I’m so relieved you are okay.”

  Lily raised her hand and placed it on Peyton’s, grasping tightly. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  Skye cleared her throat and the two of them smiled, but didn’t break contact. Lily finally felt safe enough to ask a nagging question. “Peyton, what you said about Arturo, the things he’s done, that he’s going to prison. How will that affect me?”

  “I don’t understand.” Peyton looked puzzled.

  “First my father, now my uncle. I swear to you, if my father is guilty of working with Arturo, I had no idea. You have to believe me.”

  “Wait, Arturo is Sophia’s brother? He’s your uncle?”

  Peyton’s tone was shocked but laced with sympathy. Lily looked deep into her eyes, but she saw kindness, not accusation. “He is.”

  �
��Oh, baby, I’m so sorry.” Peyton hugged her close. “You got a little bit more than you bargained for in your search for blood relatives, didn’t you?”

  “That’s one way of putting it. There’s more. It’s about Cyrus. Turns out he’s really my father, after all.” With that last bit out, she sagged against Peyton and relaxed into her strong embrace.

  The last thing she remembered, before she slipped into sleep was Peyton’s soft voice saying, “Everything’s going to be all right.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Peyton paused with her hand on the passenger side door. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay?”

  It was getting late, and she wanted to get back to Dallas, but she’d do whatever Lily needed. Bianca had brought her truck to the hospital and had caught a ride back to the office with one of the agents. Peyton had stayed at the hospital until the doctors dressed Sophia’s wound and checked Lily out to make sure she was okay, and then she drove them both back to Sophia’s ranch.

  She had to admire Sophia. In spite of her pain and the danger posed by the fact that her other brother, Sergio, was still out there somewhere, she had insisted that she wanted to testify against Arturo and tell the feds everything she knew about her brothers.

  Peyton looked around at Valencia Acres. Setting aside what had happened today in the stables, it reminded her of the relaxing atmosphere of the Circle Six. She’d understand if Lily wanted to stay here and be with the mother she’d only just found instead of driving off with her and dealing with the unresolved issues between them.

  “I’m sure,” Lily said. “She’s says her ranch hand will check in on her. I want to get to know her, but today…today, I need to think about my future, not my past. Do you understand?”

  Peyton nodded. She wanted to think about her own future as well and, as she helped Lily into her truck, she couldn’t help but experience a rush of fear that she and Lily might have different visions for what lay ahead. She fastened her seat belt, put the key in the ignition, and adjusted the rearview mirror, each action a slow and deliberate attempt to delay a conversation about where they went from here.