by Sable Hunter
The meal with Esteban wasn’t the only thing bothering him. He felt like he was missing something. Like you’d feel if you left the coffee pot on and your subconscious kept trying to jog your mind until you thought of it.
At least he had some time to himself. Martina had dropped him off and said she had business to attend to. He had no idea when she’d be back. Tomas had gone to bed early and Alessandra’s whereabouts was none of his business. Deciding he needed to shave and shower before he relaxed, he grabbed his shaving kit. When he’d taken out his things, he saw the gold coin. “Damn, I’d forgotten about this.” He rubbed it between his fingers, gazing at the woman on the face. A sentimental feeling passed over him. This must have meant something to him in the past. Smiling sadly, he wished he could remember. Dropping it, he noticed something else, a thumb drive. What was this? He tried to remember what it was for. A sense of excitement coursed through him. Hell, he’d just find out.
Going to the desk, he turned on the laptop and slipped the thumb drive in the slot. A few clicks later he had his answer. Shit! As he studied the damning details, he remembered downloading it from her computer. Martina was a drug lord, head of a dangerous drug cartel! How had he repressed that memory? Austin rubbed his eyes. Was he going crazy?
Considering his position and what he now knew, his skin crawled. He felt dirty. Here he was, sitting in the home of a mass murderer, supposedly engaged to be married to her. Well, to hell with that! Searching through her supplies he found another small flash drive and downloaded the information, copying it onto the other drive, just in case. “Gotcha!”
Standing up, he gathered a few things and threw them in a small duffle, making sure not to leave the coin behind. He wasn’t staying in this house one moment longer than necessary. Putting the thumb drive back in his pocket, he considered his options. He needed to tell somebody, but who? Hell, he didn’t know where to go or who he could trust. What he needed to do was get back to the states and there was no time like the present.
Without looking back, he left the suite he’d been given. Heading downstairs, he laid his bag by the back door and jogged to the bunkhouse, hoping to see Brock without drawing a great deal of attention. Luckily, he was standing outside, drinking a beer. “Hey.”
“Mr. Wade.” Brock looked at him suspiciously. “What can I do for you?”
“Look, I don’t remember much. I know enough to realize everything is fucked up and I’m getting out of here. I hope my instincts are right and that we’re on the same side, if not I’m signing my death warrant.”
“What are you talking about?”
Aron handed the flash drive to Brock. “I don’t have time to go into detail, but I do know my name isn’t Austin Wade. And I know who Martina is. This is enough to take her down, if we can get it into the right hands.”
Brock took it. “Look, I think we need to—”
They heard the whir of helicopter blades. “I gotta get out of here.”
“But—”
“There’s no time. I’m leaving this place while I can. If I can get in touch with you, I will.”
Aron hurried back to the house and went around back to get his bag. Damn, he wasn’t thinking clearly. He needed keys! There was no way he could walk out of here. It was miles to the nearest town. Easing back into the kitchen, he made for the cabinet where the car keys were housed. Flipping through the assortment, he took the fob for the Land Rover. Good, as soon as he had them in hand, he felt better. Now, to get out of here and leave the ranch. He had very little cash, but that wasn’t going to stop him. He’d get back to America if he had to walk across the border like the illegals.
“Austin? Where are you going?” The shock in her voice vibrated through the room.
He stopped. She was home. Turning around, he let his eyes rake over her. She was really a beautiful woman, but knowing what he knew, she was loathsome in his sight. They stood in the foyer and he couldn’t deny he was leaving. He had a bag in his hand. Her mouth tightened and those dark eyes flashed with anger.
“Answer me!” she spoke with authority. “Where are you going at this hour?”
Austin sneered at her. “I’m going to Texas.” She looked alarmed, but he didn’t care. “Tonight’s little outing got me to thinking. I guess I’ve been blind. It took me this long to put two and two together.” He walked up to her, pointing a finger in her face, grinding the words out between his teeth. “You’re a crook, and that’s putting it mildly. You sell drugs and exploit people. Hell, you probably even have blood on your hands. And I am not your fiancé. I don’t understand why you ever assumed I would fall for this farce!”
He was angry. But by the time he finished speaking, it was obvious she was angry too.
“You know nothing.” Her voice was like ice.
“I know I’m going to take you down.” He promised her. “The world needs to be rid of trash like you.”
She was shaking, she was so angry. “I am not trash!”
“Why do you do it?” he asked. “You have plenty. I don’t understand.”
Martina narrowed her eyes and stared holes through him. “I do it because I am good at it. I do it because I can!”
“But, you’re beautiful, Martina. Any man would lay the world at your feet if you gave him the opportunity.”
This seemed to jar her out of her raging stupor. Visibly, she softened and walked toward him. “I want you to lay the world at my feet. You.”
“Not going to happen. I would say I’m sorry...” Austin started to step around her. “But I’m not.”
“Oh, Aron.” She put her hand out to stop him as she pressed a button on her phone. “I too am sorry, but there’s no way I can let you leave.”
He was already so angry, he almost missed what she called him. “Aron?” The name reverberated through his soul. Before he could challenge her or ask more questions, the doors were flung open.
“Take him. Take him to the hacienda and put him in one of the rooms we reserve for our ‘unwilling’ guests. Restrain him, he’s strong,” she said with regret. Aron swung around, throwing a punch, but he was slammed upside the head with the butt of the gun.
***
Tebow Ranch
Libby debated with herself. Was she just being foolish? Maybe she was, but she couldn’t even consider letting December 25th go by without her buying Aron McCoy a Christmas present. She was still holding out for a miracle, even though the likelihood of one happening seemed to grow slimmer by the day. But if miracles were easy to come by, they wouldn’t be miracles, would they?
She had thought long and hard about what to get him. What did you buy a man who seemed to have everything he wanted? If she could have bought him a ticket home, that would have been what she would do, but that was foolish. A tie was out of the question. She had given him copies of her ultrasound for their wedding present. A beautiful photo of their unborn twins.
It was Noah who had given her the idea of a scrap book or a photo album. He was gone now, off on a trip with Skye or she would have consulted him. The family had suffered so much, little B. T. being born with a heart valve abnormality, Skye almost being killed—and Aron. God, her losing Aron was the most horrible of all. But on top of all this, Noah had discovered that Sue McCoy wasn’t his mother. The information had floored her. Noah was as much a McCoy as Jacob or Aron. They were all family—period. She had tried to show him how she felt, how much she cared and maybe she’d succeeded. No one knew better than Libby that she’d been hard to be with. She was hurt, heartbroken and scared to death. Her moodiness didn’t excuse her behavior, and Noah had borne the brunt when she lashed out, more than once.
The day he had discovered Sue’s diary, he had left open a box of papers and photos. Libby had found them when she was straightening up. Among the pictures had been portraits of Sebastian and Sue, even ones of their parents. There were also many candid shots of the boys as they were growing up. So, she had taken them all and had copies made, just in case the other boys would wan
t some, and lovingly fashioned Aron a legacy book. He could go from front to the back and see their family throughout the years. At the end she’d put photographs of them, their wedding, even the baby’s ultrasound pictures.
The only problem was, she hadn’t been able to wrap it. She looked at the images over and over again, especially the ones of him—on the football field, riding bulls on the rodeo circuit, with his art, riding his horse at Tebow. But most of all, she stared at the ones where he was looking at her with that special look on his face, the look of love.
Libby clasped the album to her heart and cried. If she never saw that look again, she didn’t know if she could go on. “Aron, I love you. Please come home.”
***
Somewhere over Mexico
The Learjet was winging its way home. The return trip, unlike the first one, was made with the assurance that Aron McCoy was alive and well.
At least for now.
He was in danger. There was no question of that. Aron was living a life as dangerous as walking through a minefield. And he needed to come home. That was the next step.
“Okay,” Noah spoke out loud. “What’s the plan?” All of them had been pretty quiet. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts. Well, it was time for them to be aired.
Roscoe took the lead. He had been making notes and looking at something on his iPad. “First,I’d like to hear what you think, if you don’t mind?” He directed the question at Noah.
Noah wasn’t dense. He knew exactly what Roscoe was after. “Well, I don’t believe he’s gone to the dark side, if that’s what you mean. The thought of Aron McCoy willingly throwing his hat into a ring full of drug lords and drug cartels was ludicrous.”
“I agree.” Kyle chimed in. “I know Aron. He’s as straight as an arrow. There’s no way he’s doing anything illegal, not if he’s in his right mind.”
Micah picked up on that ‘if’. “Do you think he’s been brainwashed?”
“Brainwashed?” The thought made Noah uncomfortable. He was on edge. It’s a wonder Skye’s hand had any feeling in it at all, he was hanging on to it for dear life, it seemed. “Do you mean hypnotized?”
“No,” Kyle said. “But look what we’re dealing with here? Drug-runners, drug manufacturers. People with no scruples and unlimited resources. There has to be some reason this is happening.”
“I see what you’re saying.” Roscoe lifted the blind on his window so he could look out at the clouds. “He didn’t recognize you, Noah. There’s no way he could have ignored you, not reacted to you in some way, especially when he was with you, alone, in the restroom. Our Aron would have hugged you, whispered his plan in your ear and let you know how glad he was to see you.”
“So, where does that leave us?” Micah crossed one booted foot over his jean clad knee. “How do we proceed?”
“There’s no way we’re leaving him down there, that’s for sure.” Noah was adamant. “I want to go home, tell my brothers what’s going on and come up with a plan.” He looked at all of them. “I’m going to need your help.”
“So, we’re going on the premise that he’s being held against his will? Doesn’t know who he is? What?” Kyle asked. “I just want to make sure we’re on the same page.”
Skye couldn’t keep quiet to save her life. “Aron loves Libby. He’s about to be a father. He would want to come home if he could remember.”
Noah kissed her. “Damn straight.” He looked at everyone else. “After seeing him, I tend to believe my brother has lost his memory. I don’t know how, or why, but Aron has lost us and we need to help him. We need to bring him home.”
“I can’t see any way this is going to be easy,” Roscoe admitted.
“He’s in enemy hands.” Kyle shook his head, leaning back in the seat. “My team.” He pointed at his friends. “Micah, Jet, Saxon, Tyson and Destry, we have flown onto foreign soil and extracted people right out from under the enemy’s nose. And we have an advantage here...we know where Aron is, we don’t have to search for him. Count my people in.”
“That’s right.” Micah nodded his head. “This will require some strategy. We’ve got to find out everything we can. There’s no telling how many guns we’ll have to go up against.”
“You’re making this sound like war.” Noah wasn’t arguing, he wanted Aron back.
“I’m afraid it will be war.” Roscoe picked up the phone to place a call to Vance. “Let’s start assembling our forces. We’re going to have to put together an army.”
***
El Duro Headquarters – Cananea, Sonora, Mexico
“I don’t want to do this,” she pleaded with him. “Give me a little hope.”
“Tell me who I am,” he demanded. “Aron, my name’s Aron. What’s my last name?”
She shook her head.
“You know what you need to do.” Esteban stood by, still as a statue. “Nothing has ever given you a pause, before. This man is more deadly to us than any enemy we’ve ever had. Kill him.”
Martina didn’t say anything. Aron lashed out at them both. “You fuckin’ cowards. You make a fortune on the backs of other people. You deal in death. Killing me won’t save you from what’s coming. I have a family.” He didn’t remember them, but the assurance of their existence was branded into his soul.
“Yes, you do,” Martina spat at him, his words seeming to infuriate her. “And you have a pretty little wife who cries for you. She thinks you’re dead. And she’s pregnant!”
“Bitch!” he yelled.
Martina turned to stone. Her eyes froze to ice. “Guard!” She looked at Aron. “If you know what’s good for you. You will cooperate. You will forget your little family and pledge your allegiance to me.” She stepped closer to him. “The only way you and your precious little wife will survive this is if you kneel and give me your fealty. If not…” She spat on the ground. “I will make you pay. I know where she lives. My reach is long and my strike is deadly.”
With almost superhuman strength, Aron lunged at her, but his bonds held him tight. “I’ll kill you, Martina. I swear by all that’s holy, if you threaten my family, I’ll kill you and not have a moment’s remorse.” He trembled. Aron couldn’t say their names. He couldn’t even picture her face. But he knew he loved her more than life itself. His mind might not remember, but his heart would never forget.
“Whip him.” She walked out and didn’t look back.
Chapter Ten
Tebow Ranch
“Where have you been?” Isaac asked when Noah and Skye walked to the door.
Noah smiled. “I need to talk to you. Where is everybody?”
“The girls are all down at the hospital with Jessie. Little B. T.’s surgery has been scheduled. The doctor has given a green light. He says the baby is much improved. They’re celebrating.”
“That’s wonderful.” Skye accepted Isaac’s hug. “I can’t wait to see him.”
“We tried to reach you, but your cell didn’t have service.”
“Yea, we were in a pretty desolate area there for a while.” There had been no cell phone service at points on the drive between Cananea and Hermosillo. “I didn’t get any messages. But that’s great about Little Bowie. I’ll go see him as soon as we deal with this.”
“Deal with what?”
Noah was still grinning.
“Tell me, dammit!” Isaac wanted to hit his little brother. “What, did you two get married? Did you elope? Have you been to Vegas?”
“No!” Skye laughed.
“No, it’s—”
“Better?” Isaac was teasing Skye. “What could be better?”
“Not better.” Noah was about to bust. “Different. Call Jacob and Joseph. We need to talk before the ladies get back.” He turned to kiss Skye. “Honey, I want you to take all your pretty clothes up to my room and warm the bed for me,” he whispered in her ear. “Can you keep this from the girls until we figure out how and when to tell Libby?”
She winked at Isaac, stood on her tiptoes and hugged N
oah tight. “I’d do anything for you, you know that. No questions asked.”
“Damn, brother.” Isaac laughed as Skye left the room. “You’re a lucky man.”
“Don’t I know it.”
“Now, what’s going on?” He refused to get his hopes up. He’d been disappointed too many times.
“Call Jacob and Joseph, I only want to tell this once.”
“How about Nathan?” Joseph asked, as he and Jacob walked up behind them. “We were down by the corral when you drove in.”
“Nathan will find out eventually, but let’s discuss it first.”
“All right.” Jacob sauntered over to the desk and sat on the edge, crossing his arms. “What’s going on and where have you been?”
Noah decided to start slow. “I hear you offered five million dollars for information on Aron.”
Isaac and Joseph looked as surprised as Noah had felt when he heard.
“When did you do this?”
“I’m glad, but why didn’t you tell us?”
They both spoke up.
Jacob didn’t look disturbed. “I had been thinking about it and decided it couldn’t hurt.”
“Don’t blame you a bit,” Noah admitted. Then, he smiled. “I got a phone call about Aron from Jaxson.”
They all three straightened. “Jaxson, our cousin?”
“Yes.” Noah put his hands on his hips. “He called on Friday.” Two days had passed.
“Quit stalling.” Isaac fussed. “You’re killing us.”
Noah nodded, he understood. “He’d been down to Sonora Mexico at the Los Banos Ranch. He said he saw Aron there.”
“Goddamn,” Joseph breathed. “Let’s go.”
Isaac and Jacob stared at Noah who looked like he was about to explode with excitement. They both began to smile, hope finally settling into their minds.
“I’ve already been,” Noah confessed. As all three of the others started talking at one time, he spoke over them. “He’s alive, but he needs our help.”