by H. L. Wegley
I’m not sure how I feel about that.
* * *
As nearly as Drew could figure it, Suarez had gone under and swam downstream for at least two-hundred yards to surface out of Drew’s sight. Suarez had done that in two minutes with a throbbing, useless knee.
Even going with the current and with two good legs, it would have been impressive. With only one good leg, the man seemed superhuman. But Suarez was only human, or Drew couldn’t have disabled the man when he had the drop on Beth and Drew.
He focused on Beth, fifty yards down the trail, still holding the Governor on Ricardo, though Hunter stood nearby. And her gaze seemed locked on Drew, studying him.
Ricardo wiggled in the dirt by the river.
She kicked his foot without looking down.
Alert, intelligent, intense, noble-looking like a Spanish aristocrat, and beautiful in a way that was real and significant. Almost no make-up. That was the Beth he’d observed from the outside.
If he was to keep them both alive through the events that would come rushing at them—interrogation, lawyers, maybe depositions, a trial, probably in federal court—he needed to know Beth on the inside. Know what she wanted and needed. Understand the fears lodged in her heart. Then, when he made his offer, would she accept it?
Drew prayed she would. Otherwise, based on what he’d seen today, he feared for their lives.
Would the warmth still be there after Beth had time to digest all that had transpired in the last hour? He was about to find out.
“Bro, did you see any signs of Suarez downriver?” Hunter circled Beth and approached Drew.
“Nada. Eventually, that made the telltale tingling run up the back of my neck, so I came back while I still could. The way he disappeared—guess it gave me the creeps. What’s the word on law enforcement?”
“They’re on the way. Border Patrol should get here first … in about twenty-five minutes.”
“Good. But I’m not looking forward to this. It’s the first time I’ve ever killed a person.”
Hunter nodded. “But not the first time you ever shot a person.”
“Hunter, the dude had knocked an old lady down, grabbed her purse and then started kicking her.”
“I didn’t say he didn’t deserve it, bro. Just that you’ve been through these kinds of questions before.”
“Don’t worry, Drew. They’ll listen to what I have to say.” Beth’s gaze met his. The warmth he’d seen earlier radiated from her eyes.
Maybe something good could come out of a fun hike gone badly awry.
“Thanks, Beth. Guess I’m a little antsy. I’ve never talked with Border Patrol before.”
“I have. They’re easy to reason with. They’ve got a tough job that you just made a little easier.”
Was that a smile on Beth’s face? Yes. The first genuine smile she’d given him. She was beautiful without the smile, but now … wow.
Hunter had noticed too. “Somebody should have warned me about you two. I thought this was a group of fun-loving college students out for an all-day excursion. Someone forgot to tell me about the two drug war vets and the firefight right on the Santa Elena Canyon trail.”
“You’re getting a little carried away, Hunter.”
Drew walked by Hunter and stopped beside Beth. “Did Ricardo give you any trouble?”
“No. But I saved his life.” She grinned.
Drew sensed his frown growing. “How so?”
“Ricardo Suarez, brother of Hector Houdini Suarez, was going to try to escape. With one shoulder shot to pieces and the other arm bound, he was about to roll into the river to escape like his big brother.”
Drew laughed. “You should have let him. Any guy that dumb can only learn the hard way, by experience.”
“I wouldn’t have let him drown. Just almost drown.” Beth laughed too.
“You know nothing about my plans.” Ricardo growled the words at them.
The ridicule had gotten to him, so he said something almost as stupid as what he’d almost done before Beth stopped him.
Drew looked down at Ricardo and shook his head. “Tell your plans to the cops. They can use a little humor. It’s a tough job trying to stop tough guys like you.”
“You ought to know,” Beth said.
Ricardo lapsed into Spanish.
The man must be deep into his vile vocabulary. Drew had never heard those words, but he’d seen that expression on the faces of men just before Drew had to fight them.
Ricardo eventually stopped and lay still on the ground, panting out his anger and frustration.
“Beth, would you like to translate that for me?”
She shook her head. “I don’t talk like that. Mama would have washed my mouth out with soap.”
Hunter pointed to the northeast. “Dust cloud on the road by the trailhead. Cops are here. Remember, Drew, you can’t use your Oregon LTC in Texas. There are no agreements.”
“But I also have license to carry in Idaho. They have a reciprocity agreement with Texas. Remember? We talked about that when I wanted to bring my gun today, Hunter.”
Beth’s eyes darted between Drew and Hunter. “Reciprocity, virtuosity, animosity, LTC—what are you two talking about?”
“Whether or not the handgun, stuffed in my pack, was legal. By virtue of my Idaho LTC, it is. So, I didn’t shoot anyone with an illegal gun. And everything I did with my gun was in self-defense or defending you from a known drug lord.”
“Bro, you don’t have to convince us. I agree and will back you up. Beth has the identity of the drug lord covered and—”
“He admitted who he was when he called Drew a green-behind-the-ears gringo,” Beth said.
“Green-behind-the-ears?” Hunter shook his head. “He admitted who he was then admitted he was stupid. But, bro, even stupid cartel leaders out here will drive away my business.”
“If we tell Border Patrol exactly what happened, you don’t have to worry about it reflecting on your business reputation.”
“I don’t know,” Hunter said. “After a firefight with a cartel took place right on the trail where I take my hikers, I may not see any more customers this year. Would you hike here if someone told you what happened today?”
Drew nodded toward the trail, where two heavily armed men in uniform approached about one-hundred yards away, their gazes locked on the scene by the river.
Drew needed to prepare Beth for what was coming and for his proposition. He laid his hand on Beth’s shoulder. “Beth, after they sort all this out with the various agencies in the DOJ, we might be presented with some hard choices, choices made even harder because of your history with Suarez and by what I did to him. Remember, we have other options than what they’ll offer. I’ll help you—whatever you need. We don’t have to do—”
“Thanks, Drew. But I can take care of myself. You really storm the castle, don’t you?”
If that’s the way she felt about his offer to save her life …
Beth reached for his arm.
He ignored Beth’s hand tugging on his arm and continued to turn away, toward the men in green uniforms.
One carried a shotgun and the other an M4. The guy with the shotgun pointed at Ricardo.
Then the two looked at Hunter, Beth, and Drew standing on the riverbank. It seemed that the eyes of both men bored into Drew and the two Border Patrol agents did not look happy.
After Beth’s initial response to his offer, Drew felt like those men looked. And he needed someone to take out his frustrations on. He glared at the two men approaching him.
Dude, you’d better cool it, or you’ll get locked up with Ricardo.
Chapter 3
The two Border Patrol agents stopped seventy-five yards away.
Drew hooked an arm around Beth’s waist and pulled her several steps from Ricardo.
“What are you up to, Drew?”
“Keeping us safe.” He laid the AK-47 on the ground then held his Governor by the barrel, using his thumb and forefinger, and
laid it beside the rifle.
Drew stood and again hooked Beth’s waist.
“So putting an arm around me keeps us safe?” She gave him a corner-of-the-eye glance.
“It does. Two young people in love. Looks innocent. Draws sympathy.”
“From their faces, I'm not sure about the sympathy part. And love? Speak for yourself, Mr. West.”
“Maybe I was.”
“Maybe you were what?”
“Speaking for—uh, I think we should put our hands on our heads. That shotgun is pointed at us.”
“Border Patrol! Are you the person who called about a shooting?” The man on the right, the guy with the M4, focused on Drew.
“No. He's about two-hundred yards up the trail with a group of hikers on his Big Bend Canyon excursion. I'm Drew West.” It was best not to volunteer information about the shooting until he’d given the shooting some context and identified the cartel men.
“How many weapons are here and where are they?”
“My handgun and that man’s AK-47 are on the ground. And there are two AK-47s somewhere in the river.”
“Keep your hands on your heads.” The man on the right motioned for the man with the shotgun to advance toward them. “Check out their guns, Abbott.” The man paused and looked at Ricardo. “What's the status of the guy tied up on the ground?”
“That's Ricardo Suarez, baby brother of Hector Suarez. He's wounded in one shoulder. We stopped the bleeding.”
“Suarez's little brother? You sure about that?”
“Certain,” Beth said. “Hector came here to pick him up, but Drew took Suarez down and got his gun, then Suarez escaped.”
“And who are you? Ricardo's girlfriend?”
“No. She's mine.” Drew spoke, forcing more confidence into his voice than he felt.
Beth shot him a sharp glance, then the look in her eyes softened.
“Okay. Drew West’s girlfriend, identify yourself.”
“I am Elizabeth Sanchez, the woman Suarez wants to kill.”
The man with the shotgun turned to face his partner. “All visible guns accounted for. Do you want me to search them, Coy?”
“Just Mr. West.”
“Seriously? Not the girl?”
“Abbott, you don't know who she is, do you?”
Abbott shrugged. “Ms. Sanchez, I guess.”
“Was your father Rafael Sanchez?”
Beth nodded.
“Then I can understand why Suarez wanted to kill you.”
“Coy, you want to explain that to me?”
Coy blew out a sigh. “About eight years ago, Rafael Sanchez organized a militia made up of businessmen and farmers, any Mexicans who had grown tired of being fleeced and intimidated by the Del Rio Cartel—well, any Mexican who had guts enough to fight. With his militia, Sanchez nearly drove the cartel out of Northeastern Mexico. But Suarez regrouped and one night brought an army and killed every militiaman in the town and surrounding countryside. Suarez destroyed their houses, killed their livestock, destroyed all their worldly goods, and killed every member of every family. The Laguna Norte massacre.”
Abbott swore then shook his head.
Coy continued. “Suarez killed them all … except Elizabeth Sanchez. And he believes he’s got to avenge every betrayal and every resister, or he will lose power. So, Ms. Sanchez is a burr under his sombrero.”
Drew turned toward Beth.
Tears streamed down her cheeks. Had she relived those horrific events as Coy described them?
Drew put his arms around her and she cried softly on his shoulder.
The two border agents stood in silence.
After a few moments, Beth raised her head from Drew’s shoulder, wiped her eyes, and focused on Coy. “So now you understand why this happened.”
Coy nodded but didn't speak.
Drew looked at the body in the edge of the water, hidden from Coy's view by the river bank. “There's a body by the river. That cartel member had his AK-47 trained on us when I shot him.”
Coy blew out a sharp blast of air. “Abbott, call an ambulance. Mr. West, Ms. Sanchez, now let's take this from the top. I want to hear what happened.” Coy paused. “But keep in mind that we are federal agents.”
Beth gave Drew a puzzled frown.
“He's helping us, Beth. Anything we say that can be disproven, or made to look like a lie, is a crime, and he doesn't even have to warn us. No Miranda rights … nada.”
“But he believes us, Drew. Isn't that a good thing?”
“Yes. But he's not the federal prosecutor, the man who can call us liars and then twist our arms to get what he wants. Now, with that in mind, let's answer the man's questions.”
Beth and Drew answered Coy’s carefully constructed questions. Evidently, the senior Border Patrol agent had a lot of experience pulling facts from witnesses.
Beth proved clever in covering herself when answers to questions had the potential to be misconstrued and to be used against her and Drew.
She was clever, intelligent, incredibly beautiful, tough enough to survive tragedy—his admiration seemed to grow with every new discovery about Elizabeth Sanchez.
After about thirty minutes, the questions for Beth and Drew slowed to a trickle, then they ended.
But Ricardo had refused to answer anything directed at him. His response to each question was to swear at the agents in Spanish.
“Ricardo lies there in pain and swears at the people who control his future,” Beth said. She lowered her voice. “In Mexico, we would call him tonto, a fool.”
“So the Lone Ranger was calling his sidekick, Tonto, a fool?”
“I don’t know who you’re talking about. But calling his sidekick tonto probably made him angry. What did he call the Lone Ranger?”
“Kemosabe.”
“Did you say quien no sabe?”
“Maybe. It sounds sorta’ like what I said.”
“Then they must have argued a lot.”
“Argued?”
“Drew, quien no sabe means a person who has no understanding. You know, stupid, idiotic, a moron.”
“As a kid, I enjoyed watching those old Lone Ranger and Tonto reruns. I had no idea they had such a toxic relationship.” Drew grinned then looked down the trail at the two paramedics headed toward them carrying a stretcher. “Hey, Ricardo, here comes your ride to the hospital. What would you do if one of those guys called you kemosabe?”
“I kill them, just like I do to you one day.” He growled out the words through clenched teeth.
“Now that’s what I call a toxic relationship.” Drew stepped off the trail to let the paramedics pass.
They set the stretcher on the ground and unslung their packs. One of them, with a small container in his hand, approached Ricardo.
He swore at the man and turned his head away.
“I was going to give you something for pain,” the paramedic said. “I'll just note that you refused it.”
Ricardo turned back and opened his mouth to speak.
The paramedic turned away and put the container back in his pack.
Drew leaned close to Beth. “You’re right about Ricardo. I hope Hector does hand the cartel over to him. It won’t last long with Tonto holding the reins.”
“Suarez won't give control to Ricardo. It is the family bond Mexicans have that makes Hector say this, but it will never happen.”
“Well it sure won't happen with Ricardo in prison.”
“But you and I have to put him there, Drew.”
“That's a discussion we need to have with Coy. They're not going to just turn us loose. There will be a grand jury then, if Ricardo's indicted, a trial. All of that happens in a federal court somewhere in Texas.”
“We won't be safe in Texas, especially if we’re going to testify to the grand jury. Suarez will send people to kill us.” She gripped Drew's arm. “He won't stop coming after us unless he's dead … or until we are. He sent a whole army to my town.”
“I've got a pla
n, Beth.”
“To kill Suarez?”
“Not exactly, but that could be accommodated.”
“You're as crazy as Ricardo if you're thinking of taking on Hector and the Del Rio Cartel.”
“I'm thinking about keeping you safe. But let's talk to Coy before—”
“Am I going to like this plan, Drew?” Beth’s eyes studied his, searching for an answer. She didn’t look alarmed or angry.
“I hope so. Because I don't think you'll care for any of the alternatives, including what the prosecutor offers.”
Her eyes said she’d settled on an answer to her question. Her conclusion seemed to be that Drew West was full of it.
But Drew could change her mind. He’d always been able to change people’s minds. Most often by pounding that person into submission. Or letting them watch while he did that to someone else. If blowing out Suarez’s knee hadn’t been enough for Beth, maybe he needed to take a different approach with her.
Other law enforcement officers arrived, ending the discussion of Drew’s plan and leaving him in a quandary.
From the bits and pieces of conversation Drew gleaned from the officers, it sounded like one was a Brewster County Deputy Sheriff and another a DEA agent stationed in Pecos.
The third man, the tall, quiet one, remained a mystery. Maybe he was from the FBI.
Drew took Beth’s hand and pulled her toward Coy.
The Border Patrol agent sounded like he was wrapping up a discussion with the DEA agent.
Coy turned toward Beth and Drew. “I'll bet you two have some questions about your future.”
“How did you know?” Drew said. “A lucky guess?”
“You and Ms. Sanchez are pretty sharp or you couldn’t have taken down Suarez. So you’ve probably deduced that there is a federal court case in your future.”
Drew nodded. “If we testify, there—”
“No, Drew. When we testify.”
Coy smiled. “I like that kind of talk.”
“Okay.” Drew looked down at Beth. “When we testify.” He turned toward Coy. “Where will this take place and what protection will we have? Suarez will come after us for a lot of reasons. But the personal reasons are the most concerning.”