No Turning Back

by H. L. Wegley

  It took an hour to get back to the river and ford it. They’d spent more time on the west side of the river than Drew expected. “Let’s take this shortcut back to the ranch. It’s a smooth dirt road. The horses will appreciate it.”

  “Where does this road go.”

  “It was probably made for access to somebody’s homestead a long time ago. People riding motorcycles and ATVs still use it for access to the back country. Hunters use it during deer season.”

  The road widened about a mile from the county road that led to the ranch. In a turnout along the road, an older sedan sat, inclined to one side.

  Drew nodded toward the car. “Somebody has a flat tire. Maybe they need some help.”

  Three young men got out of the car and looked their way.

  Beth pulled Sundown to a stop. “Drew, let’s circle around them. We could cut through the field and—”

  “It’s okay, Beth. People help people out here.”

  “I don’t think we should. I don’t like the looks of them.”

  Chapter 14

  “Drew, please? Can we just keep riding?” The three men had a familiar look, one that Beth had seen in the demeanor of cartel drug runners. Men without scruples or honor. Men who tried to take what they wanted.

  Right now, the three were looking at her with far too much interest.

  “They obviously don’t know how to change their tire.” Drew said. “Around here, we don’t leave people stranded out in the boonies. I’ll just give them a hand for a minute, and then we’ll go.”

  He gave her his horses reins and climbed out of the saddle.

  “Hey, dude,” the tall skinny guy said. “You know how to jack this car up without damaging it?”

  “I can probably figure it out. Let me see what you have for a jack and get out your spare tire.”

  “Here’s the lug wrench,” the tall guy said.

  “She’s a hot little jalapeno.” The short guy with a smirk on his face stared brazenly at Beth.

  “Where did you pick up the illegal? In the Tijuana red-light district?” The one who looked like a football linebacker took a step her way.

  Drew laid down the lug wrench and turned to face the two. “You guys need to learn how to conduct yourselves in the presence of a lady. I’m sure she’ll overlook your crudeness this time if you apologize to her.”

  “Apologize? Ain’t gonna happen, dude. And ya’ wanna know what you can do with your apology?”

  This was getting entirely out of hand. “We should go, Drew.”

  The linebacker picked up the lug wrench like he intended to use it as a club.

  Drew motioned Beth to ride her horse to the other side of the road, out of reach of any of the men. But he didn’t join her. “Put down the wrench and apologize to the lady.”

  The short guy laughed.

  The lug-wrench linebacker chuckled. “I’m going to tell you what I plan to do with this lug wrench and then what I plan to do to that hot little—”

  “It’s your funeral, dufus.” The ferocity in Drew’s eyes frightened Beth.

  But the three men didn’t seem intimidated, though he now had their full attention.

  She had seen Drew in this posture when he’d taken on Suarez. Drew was going to fight them.

  If it turned ugly, would he have to kill them? She couldn’t let that happen.

  “No, Drew.” Beth turned her horse, intending to ride between them and break things up before any fighting started.

  Before she could turn her horse, Drew kicked the man holding the wrench.

  He dropped to the ground and didn’t move.

  Drew’s movement continued after the kick. He punched the other crude commenter.

  Blood splattered across the man’s face. And his hands went to his nose.

  The third young man, the tall skinny one, held both hands out toward Drew in surrender. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to offend you.”

  “Yes, you did.” Drew planted a foot in the man’s mid-section. The kick sent him to the ground, wheezing as he tried to regain the breath Drew had knocked out of him.

  “I hope you three learned a lesson about real ladies and real men, because you guys are neither. I’m not sure what we should call boys like you.” Drew turned to walk away.

  The first man he kicked rolled over and pulled out a knife.

  “Drew, watch out!” Beth’s horse reared up. She shifted her weight to stay in the saddle and hang onto the reins of Dusty.

  The man with the knife lunged toward Drew’s back.

  Drew whirled and, in one smooth motion, grabbed the wrist of the knife hand, slung the man over Drew’s shoulder, and slammed him on the ground with a sickening thud.

  Except for his groaning mouth, the man didn’t move.

  “Stop it, Drew! Let’s go!”

  He ignored her plea. Instead, Drew glared at the guy who hadn’t joined the fight. “You know what’s going to happen to you in a few minutes?”

  The guy’s wide eyes said he’d gotten an inkling.

  “They’re going to beat the living crud out of you because you bailed on them. Saves me the trouble.” Finally, Drew walked her way.

  He mounted Dusty.

  She tossed him the reins. “You didn’t have to do that.”

  He didn’t reply. His eyes still held the furious look they’d maintained during the fight. He stared at the road ahead of them and didn’t look her way.

  “Drew, there was no need for any violence. You could have avoided it.”

  “No one who threatens you is going to get away with it, Beth. And they talked like they were going to try to make good on those threats.”

  “Don’t make this about me. It’s about you losing your temper and using your fighting skills against people who can’t even—”

  “What did you want me to do, Beth. Wait until one of them pulled out a gun?” He blew out a blast of air. “Look, when anybody threatens someone I’m protecting, they are going to suffer the consequences, every time.”

  “I’m not your little sister and you’re not ten years old.”

  His eyes flashed anger that was now directed at her. “Guess I won’t be trusting you with any more of my personal history, not if you’re going to—”

  “I’m sorry. I just wanted to make my point.”

  “You made it, Beth.”

  Though Drew needed to hear those words, for his own sake, Beth wanted them back. She should never have taken a sore spot on Drew’s heart and ripped off the scabs.

  “But I wish I hadn’t. I’m sorry, Drew. Look at me, please?”

  He blew out a sharp sigh and made eye contact. “I’m sorry too.”

  “So where do we go from here?”

  She wasn’t sure, and Drew didn’t reply.

  Chapter 15

  Was Ramon neglecting his duties? There had been no confirmation of Mr. West’s and Ms. Sanchez’s arrival or presence at that ranch in Oregon.

  Suarez sat on the couch in his suite inside his compound with his finger hovering over the call icon for Ramon’s cell phone. Hector could take no definitive action until he was sure of the location of the two targets.

  He cursed and pressed the icon.

  “Suarez, I was about to call you.”

  “What a coincidence, a convenient coincidence.”

  Ramon didn’t reply.

  “Have you seen them, Ramon?”

  “A few minutes ago, they rode two horses down the long driveway and then took their horses to the barn.”

  “So they are enjoying their little love affair while I hobble around on a knee that is barely functional.”

  “I do not think they are enjoying it too much. From this distance, I could not be sure, but they were not, how do you say it, íntimamente?”

  “Perhaps it was a lovers’ quarrel. Anything that distracts them is to our advantage. Well, they are at the ranch, so I am leaving for Tijuana.”

  “Tijuana? Are you sure you can trust them, Hector? How do we know you will come
back alive?”

  “I will be safe. Besides our gentlemen’s agreement, I am bringing twenty men with me. They are already across the border and have transportation to our destination. They are my insurance, Ramon.”

  “Who is this man in Tijuana that you are trusting so much?”

  “That is not a good question to ask. In usual circumstances, it might endanger you. But, in this case, perhaps you should know. His name is Luis Santana.”

  “I have never heard of him.”

  “That is good. But I’m afraid Luis will not enjoy his anonymity for long. His organization is growing, but we are not yet competitors. Hopefully, this cooperation will maintain our friendship, which is advantageous to both of us.”

  “I do not mean to question your judgment, Hector, but how is that to both of our advantages?”

  “Luis wants to know more about how we eliminated the resistors in Laguna. I help them implement a plan to eliminate resistance in their area, and they help me on this venture. I will also help them stop the Zetas from encroachment into Tijuana territory.”

  Ramon was silent for a moment. “But you are already talking to Los Zetas about a non-interference agreement.”

  “I am not willing to start a war with the Zetas on behalf of the Tijuana cartel. Any agreement with the Zetas, even a verbal agreement between us and them, is enough to say that I have kept my promise to Luis Santana.”

  “Even if it does not protect the Tijuana Cartel?”

  “As long as I can spin it sufficiently to satisfy Luis, yes.”

  “I hope Luis doesn’t—”

  “And that, Ramon, is why you cannot express any knowledge of any agreements between cartels. You may encounter Luis’s men while we are in Oregon. One remark from you can destroy what I have spent months building. You would be punished accordingly for such a mistake.”

  “I know nothing of inter-organizational agreements, Hector. I am simply your personal private detective.”

  “Well said, my friend.”

  “Have you talked with Ricardo or his lawyer?”

  “No. But I expect a call from his lawyer tomorrow or the next day. Ricardo isn’t as weak as you think, Ramon. He will survive prison for a few weeks.”

  “When can I expect to see you here?”

  “Lopez is flying me to Juarez. But my commercial flight from Juarez arrives in the middle of the night in Tijuana. Then we leave immediately for Oregon. You should see me in three days max. Maybe sooner. Keep watching them, Ramon. We need to know what they do and when, and where they go in the local area. Once I arrive, we need to strike quickly. And no building, no animal and no person there can be allowed to survive.”

  Chapter 16

  Beth had been a no-show at breakfast. After their disagreement yesterday, it wasn’t a good sign.

  Did she really believe he was too volatile and violent to be around? That he wouldn’t make a good husband or father, because he was determined to stop evil people with violence if they wouldn’t listen to words?

  He and Beth needed to talk. But would she?

  About 9:00 a.m. she had slipped out the door and went to the barn. Probably to see Sundown. But she’d been out there over an hour.

  Maybe Drew should try to talk to her in the barn. Being with the horses might help his cause.

  The back door opened, and Beth entered the dining room. She stopped when she saw Drew sitting at the table with Mel and Cooper.

  Drew stood. “Beth—”

  The ranch phone rang. The old ringer jangled his nerves and stopped his words. Something about the call, maybe its timing, seemed ominous, like some evil force driving a wedge between Beth and him.

  Beth’s eyes, darting between him and the phone, said she also had concerns about the call.

  “I’ll get it,” Coop said. “It might be Mom.” He answered the phone, then his eyebrows rose, and his mouth dropped open. “Just a minute, sir … Uncle Drew, it's an FBI agent and he wants to talk to you.”

  Mattie entered from the kitchen. She studied Drew’s face for a moment. “What’s wrong?”

  “Mom, would you please take the kids to the kitchen. Get them some desert or something.”

  She nodded. “Coop, Mel, there’s still some cobbler left. Let’s have some.”

  Coop handed Drew the phone and followed his grandmother out of the room.

  Drew blew out a breath and lifted the phone to his ear. “This is Drew.”

  “Agent Tom Preston, here. I talked to your friend, Hunter Jones, and he reluctantly gave me this number.”

  “Yeah. We knew at some point you would need to know exactly where we were. But what’s up?”

  “I’ve been talking to an analyst in the FBI Intelligence Branch. Reports indicate that some members of the Del Rio Cartel crossed the Mexican border into California. We believe they’re traveling with, and possibly collaborating with, members of the Tijuana Cartel.”

  “What do you make of that, Preston?”

  “These are, for the most part, noncompeting crime organizations. So cooperation as a reason for traveling together, while unusual, can't be ruled out. We know the Tijuana cartel moves drugs north to Oregon along both the I-5 and Highway 97 corridors.”

  “What do you think they're up to?”

  “This is speculation, so we could be wrong. But we think they're forming a small army, a tactical operations group. Other members of Del Rio entered the US, near El Paso, a couple of days ago. We believe they plan to come after you and Ms. Sanchez. That would fit with the way Hector Suarez has operated in the past. Up until now, his violent activities have been confined to Northeastern Mexico. But with what just happened in Florence ADX—”

  “What do you mean? What just happened?”

  “Ricardo Suarez was nearly killed in a fight at the federal penitentiary in Florence, Colorado yesterday. He’s listed as critical.”

  “So you think that pushed Suarez over the edge far enough to plan an attack in the US?”

  “That's exactly what we think. The people who spotted the Tijuana members working with Suarez are sure they detected Elizabeth Sanchez’s name and mentions of Oregon in some of the communications. Do you want us to arrange some law enforcement protection in your area? We might be able to free up some FBI or DEA resources to help for a couple of weeks.”

  “Can I get back to you on that? I need to talk to Beth, uh, Ms. Sanchez, before we commit to anything.”

  “Sure. But don't take too long. I don't know how much longer the resources will be available, and we don't know how quickly these guys might make it to Oregon. They just crossed the border in a vehicle so, worst case, you have thirty-six to forty-eight hours before they will be in your area.”

  “What's local time for you, Preston?”

  “Central daylight.”

  “Okay. It's almost 11:00 a.m. out here. I'll get back to you before 5:00 p.m. your time.”

  “Good luck, West. We'll be waiting to hear from you.”

  Drew hung up the phone and turned to face Beth.

  Her face had lost its beautiful tan, the same look he'd seen when the rattler coiled near her face.

  Drew wanted to erase it. To take it all away. But he couldn't. And his promise to protect her no matter what would likely cost him his life.

  “They're coming for us, aren't they?” She forced the words out in a hoarse whisper.

  He held her by the shoulders and peered into the brilliant, brown eyes, now wide and darting as if she was trying to see everything at once.

  “I love you, Beth. Nobody hurts anyone I love. No matter what.”

  “What are you saying, Drew? This isn’t three teenage punks. You can't take on Suarez and his men by yourself.”

  “It's more than Suarez and his men. He's teamed up with another cartel that does business in this area.”

  “They're planning another massacre. That's Suarez's MO. He did it to my town, to my family. Now he'll do it to this ranch, to you and your family, and to me.”

  �
��He can plan all he wants to. The best laid plans can fall apart with a little help from us … or we can run. Either way, I need to tell Mom. She needs to get the kids out of here and move as many horses and foals as she can in the next thirty-six hours.”

  “Thirty-six hours? Is that all we've got?”

  He pulled her into a tight embrace.

  Beth didn’t resist.

  This is where she needed to be. Close to him. He would keep her with him until either he killed Suarez, or until Drew had no option but to sacrifice himself for her.

  “Worst-case, we need to be ready in thirty-six hours. Preston said FBI Intelligence thinks they just crossed the border at Tijuana and that they were in a vehicle. Some other Del Rio men have already crossed the border and are in the US. If Suarez linked me to this ranch, I’m not that hard to find. Mom has a Facebook page for the ranch, and I'm sure some of her posts have mentioned me. We probably should have scrubbed her social media sites.”

  “Drew, when he attacked my town, Suarez surrounded it, completely destroyed the property of everyone he targeted, and he killed them all, family members, kids, even babies. Everyone but me. And here … they will kill the horses too.”

  Drew stuck his head through kitchen doorway. “Mom, will you please come here for a minute.”

  “Mel, Coop, finish your desert at the kitchen table.” She hurried into the dining room.

  “We need to invoke our plan, but it may be worse than we thought.”

  “Drew, you’re scaring me. What’s happening?”

  “We think a small army of cartel members is coming and could arrive here in as little as thirty-six hours. They will try to kill everyone, all the horses and probably burn the ranch.”

  His mom’s hand went to her mouth. She plopped down onto the bench by the table.

  “We need to move the horses. Call all the other ranchers and see how many trucks and pickups with trailers you can arrange and try to place all our horses somewhere, anywhere. Beth and I will keep Dusty and Sundown. We might need them. And, Mom, when you talk to the other ranchers, don’t give them the details. Especially, don’t mention drug cartels or they’ll freak out. We don’t have time to deal with that. Just say that some really bad dudes who don’t like your son are coming and the horses are in danger too. Tell them we have to move them within twenty-four hours.”