by Marin Thomas
“Shannon Douglas can give me pointers.”
His dark gaze zeroed in on her mouth and Lucy’s pulse raced. She couldn’t think with Tony standing so close, but when she attempted to retreat, nothing happened—it was as if the heels of her boots had been staked into the ground.
“Shannon doesn’t have time to help you.” His mouth curved in a sexy half smile. “Besides, I’m the only one who isn’t afraid of your father.”
That was the God’s honest truth.
“Whether or not Cal approves of me doesn’t matter. I’ll be transferring to San Diego soon.”
A sick feeling grew inside her. Lucy wouldn’t put it past her dad to prevent Tony’s transfer from happening.
“Never mind. This wasn’t a good idea from the get-go.” Not just because of her father’s guaranteed objection, but because the chemistry was still there between her and Tony and it would take little effort on his part to make her fall in love with him all over again. She walked away.
“Hey, we had a deal.” Tony marched after her. “My help in exchange for—”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take you out to the gold mine.” As much as she hated to see Tony move away from Stagecoach, Lucy wanted him to be happy. She hopped into her truck. “Meet me at the west entrance of the ranch tomorrow at one-thirty.” She shut the door in his face and drove off, forgetting all about Maddie.
* * *
AS TONY WATCHED the taillights of Lucy’s truck leave the mobile home park and turn onto the highway, he exhaled a sigh of relief. The woman was too much of a temptation. Keeping his attraction to her under control was more difficult than chasing criminals through a moonless desert without the use of night-vision goggles. But as much as he believed it was best for him to stay away from Lucy, he didn’t trust anyone else to give her pointers on bull riding. And he for sure didn’t like the idea of Lucy cozying up to another rodeo cowboy for help.
Jealousy aside, picking up where they’d left off two years ago would only end in disaster. They were different people—both changed by Michael’s death. Yes, the fire still burned hot between them, but he didn’t deserve a second chance with Lucy. He’d made his bed—now he had to lie in it. He’d give her a few days to search for a new bull-riding mentor, but he was confident she’d crawl back to him. Then it would be up to him to make sure they kept their relationship purely professional.
Easier said than done.
He threw the tarp over the bucking machine, closed the shed door then went to lock up the trailer for the night. When his boot hit the first porch step, he froze. “Maddie.”
The dog’s ears perked. “How’d you get left behind?” He sat down and Maddie rested her head on his leg.
Come to think of it, he couldn’t recall seeing the boxer when Lucy had driven off. “Sneaky girl. You hid on purpose, didn’t you?” What was he supposed to do with the dog?
Call Lucy. He reached into his pocket for his phone, but the dog’s big brown eyes stopped him. “You can’t stay at my apartment,” he said. “No pets allowed.”
Maddie licked Tony’s hand.
“We had some wild times, didn’t we, girl?” Tony’s mind flashed back to the afternoon he and Michael had taken Maddie hiking. The dog had spotted a rattlesnake coiled on a rock and barked a warning when Michael stepped within striking distance.
Tony’s phone jingled with a text message. “I think I know who this is.”
Is Maddie with you?
He texted back. Yep.
On my way.
Tony texted, She can stay here tonight.
Sure?
Yep.
K.
You’re not driving and texting are you?
:-) No.
I’ll bring Maddie when we meet at the ranch.
K.
Tony returned the phone to his pocket. It beeped again.
Night.
The single word sounded intimate and Tony put the phone away before he texted, Sweet dreams. “You hungry, Maddie?”
The boxer went to the door.
“Guess so.” He let her into the trailer. “Hope you like tuna casserole.” Maddie followed Tony into the kitchen and waited patiently for a handout. He set a plate of food on the floor along with a fresh bowl of water, and the dog devoured the meal.
“Now what?” he asked when her sad eyes latched onto him. “Because of you, I’m stuck sleeping here tonight.” Tony walked down the hall to the guest bedroom. Maddie followed him and hopped onto Tony’s bed, resting her head on his pillow.
Ignoring the dog, Tony took his uniform to the laundry room and stuck it in the washer so he’d have clean clothes for work tomorrow. Returning to the bedroom, he rummaged through the dresser, throwing clothes on the bed as he searched for his favorite Diamondbacks T-shirt.
He changed into the shirt then gaped at the dog. Maddie had nosed through the pile of clothes and dragged one of the shirts onto the pillow, then nestled her face in it.
Damn it, Maddie. Tony’s throat closed as he struggled against the urge to flee, but there was nowhere to run from the memories. The crumpled T-shirt had belonged to Michael. Tony sucked in a ragged breath then stretched out across the bed.
“He shouldn’t have died, Maddie.” Tony counted to ten—twice—but the damned tears leaked from his eyes. He rested his head next to the dog’s on the pillow. “Why Michael, Maddie?” He’d thought he’d cried every last tear for his friend in the days that had followed his death, but Maddie reminded him that he couldn’t outrun guilt.
Why hadn’t he coerced Michael’s backside off that bar stool?
Michael wasn’t drunk when I left.
I figured he’d call his father if he needed a ride.
That’s what Tony had told himself, but he’d known Michael wouldn’t reach out to his father. Cal Durango had worshipped the ground his son walked on. Michael had confided in Tony that his father had ridden broncs in high school but a back injury had ended his career before he’d graduated.
Cal Durango had lived vicariously through his son—taking credit for Michael’s rodeo wins as if he’d been the one riding the bulls. He’d also given Michael unlimited funds to pay for motel rooms, food and entertainment on the road.
Tony had worked part-time jobs in order to cover his entry fees. The only reason Durango tolerated Tony was because he’d looked out for Michael. Michael’s name drew a lot of attention from rodeo groupies—bimbos hoping to become wife and heir to the Durango fortune. Tony had made sure Michael remained focused on busting bulls and not buckle bunnies.
The night he’d left Michael at the bar had been a first for Tony. Unfortunately, it had also been a last.
Closing his eyes, Tony drifted off to sleep. Thirty minutes later, the alarm on the washing machine woke him. He switched his clothes to the dryer then noticed Maddie sitting at the front door.
“You read my mind, friend.” Tony clipped the leash to Maddie’s collar, grabbed his keys and went out to his truck to retrieve his night-vision binoculars and his loaded Beretta 96D Brigadier pistol from the glove compartment. Maddie was a large dog, but a hungry coyote or a pack of javelinas could take her down in a minute. Wild animals aside, the biggest threat to Tony was stumbling upon drug runners. Gear in hand, he locked the truck and walked into the desert—twenty-five acres that belonged to the trailer-park developer. There had been plans to divide the land into more trailer pads but the economic recession had stalled further construction, and for now residents used the area to walk their dogs and ride ATVs.
Tony followed a well-worn path through the scrub brush. Saguaros dotted the landscape, several of them full of bullet holes from delinquents practicing a game called cactus plugging. When Maddie stopped to sniff, Tony raised the binoculars and scanned the desert. Fifty yards ahead he spotted a coyote trotting in the oppo
site direction, and farther away a jackrabbit. If the rabbit was smart he’d hide before his scent reached the coyote. A sudden movement in the scrub caught Tony’s attention.
“Sit, Maddie.” The dog obeyed and Tony trained the binoculars on a large mesquite bush. Someone stepped out from behind the vegetation and ran north. Five more bodies emerged from the hiding place. If Maddie weren’t with him, Tony would have given chase, but he didn’t want to risk the dog getting shot if the suspects had guns. Instead, he followed the group with the binoculars as they made their way across the desert landscape. When they disappeared over a ridge, Tony called dispatch on his cell phone and made his way back to the trailer. He locked Maddie inside then went out to wait for his fellow border patrol agents at the entrance to the trailer park. Ricky Sanez and Danny Barker arrived a half hour later.
“How many?” Sanez asked as soon as he hopped out of the truck.
“Six. They’re running northeast. They disappeared over that rocky incline out there. I couldn’t tell if they were carrying weapons.”
Barker made sure his pistol was loaded, then lowered the tailgate of the truck and pulled down a metal ramp. Once they’d unloaded the ATVs, both men put on helmets and night-vision goggles.
Tony made a move to go with Barker, but the man held up his hand. “You’re off duty, Bravo.”
“No one knows this area better than me.” Hell, this piece of desert had been Tony’s backyard for years. He knew every rabbit hole and snake den for a mile in each direction. Besides, if he went back to the trailer he’d think about Michael and Lucy.
“Let him come,” Sanez said.
Tony hopped onto the back of Barker’s ATV. If they were lucky, they’d find the group and apprehend them without incident.
Chapter Six
Tony was late.
Lucy sat on the front bumper of her pickup and stared down the highway, waiting for a glimpse of the black Dodge. An early morning thunderstorm had rolled through the area, leaving behind cooler temperatures in the mid-eighties. Triggered by rainfall, the pungent smell of creosote bushes permeated the air and breathed life into the desert.
She adjusted her high-powered binoculars and scanned the area. Aside from an occasional piece of garbage that had blown through the barbed-wire fencing, there were no signs of animals or trespassers. Gold Dust Ridge, where the mine was located, might be a different story.
Although Lucy hadn’t visited the ridge in a couple of years, Pete, the ranch foreman, had driven out there six months ago and reported nothing amiss. A lot could change in six months.
A horn honked and Lucy swung the binoculars toward the highway. Tony’s truck sped toward her, Maddie sitting in the passenger seat. The pair looked right together, but Lucy’s heart ached for her brother—he should be the one driving with Maddie. She zoomed in on Tony’s face. His eyes were hidden behind his mirrored sunglasses, but she imagined a smoldering heat sparking from the dark brown orbs.
Last night she’d gotten little sleep—her dreams were filled with visions of Tony making love to her. Before dawn she’d awoken aroused and short of breath, as if Tony had sneaked into her bed and made love to her while she’d slept. She wished they could just pick up where they’d left off, but details of the night Michael had died stood between them, and that was all the reason Lucy needed to keep her head on straight around the border patrol agent.
Come clean, and tell him the truth. The truth made Lucy nauseous. Even if her father forgave her, she doubted Tony would. Tony’s truck turned onto the property. After he drove through the entrance, she swung the gate closed and fed the security chain through the bars, then retrieved the cooler of water bottles she’d brought along. When she hopped into Tony’s truck, Maddie greeted her with a sloppy kiss. “Hey, girl.”
Maddie wagged her tail.
“Did she eat breakfast?” Lucy asked.
“I picked up a bag of dog food on the way to the station this morning.”
“You took her into work with you?”
“Yep.”
“I hope she wasn’t any trouble.”
“Maddie was on her best behavior.”
Lucy snapped on her seatbelt, and Tony hit the gas.
“Does your father know we’re going out to the mine?” he asked.
“I didn’t have a chance to tell him. He flew to California on business this morning before I got out of bed.”
The bumpy dirt road made driving a challenge, so Lucy kept quiet. Tony’s head swiveled from side to side taking in their surroundings. He stopped the truck twice to get out and study the ground. After a few miles, Gold Dust Ridge came into view. “Wait here,” he said. He grabbed his binoculars and left the truck.
As soon as he shut the door, Maddie whined.
“Big baby.” Lucy rubbed the dog’s neck. “He’ll be back, don’t worry.”
Tony surveyed the area, then bent over and picked up an object from the ground.
“What did you find?” Lucy asked when he returned to the truck.
He handed her a Mexican peso, then drove on.
Hopefully an illegal immigrant crossing the property had dropped the peso and not a member of a Mexican cartel. When Tony got closer to the ridge, she said, “Go left. It’s a shortcut to the entrance.”
“If left is the fastest way, trespassers will take the opposite route to throw off anyone following them.”
“Okay.” Tracking illegals was Tony’s area of expertise, not hers. Lucy counted only a handful of saguaro cacti in the area and was saddened that the landscape had been desecrated decades ago when gold was discovered. Years of environmental abuse had left Gold Dust Ridge scarred and ugly.
As soon as the truck drove past the ridge, Tony slammed on the brakes and Lucy grabbed Maddie’s collar to prevent her from flying into the windshield. Tony put the truck in Park and got out to investigate a small pile of debris littering the ground. Curious, Lucy joined him and Maddie whined in protest at being left behind.
Tony sifted through the trash—gallon-size water jugs, food wrappers, torn clothing and threadbare shoes. He lifted a jacket by his fingertip. “Look at this.”
“It belonged to a young girl.” The smaller size and pink color were dead giveaways. All the items appeared to be girls’ clothing, including a dirty athletic shoe with sparkly purple laces.
“They’re driving the girls in here.” Tony pointed to the faint tire tracks left in the sand after the early morning shower.
“The lock on the gate wasn’t tampered with,” Lucy said.
“They’re not using the west entrance.” He pointed southeast. “They’re driving from that direction.”
“There’s no gate along that side of the ranch.”
“I’m guessing they take down a section of fence then put it back up after they’ve gone through.”
She and Tony returned to the truck and he drove by the debris, careful not to run over any of the discarded items. When they arrived at the mine, Tony let Maddie out of the truck and the dog went off in search of lizards. Lucy and Tony discovered more trash and a smashed cell phone.
“I’d say you have enough evidence to support your claim that the girls are being transported through our ranch,” Lucy said.
“Your father will want more than garbage before he admits there’s any illegal activity on his property.”
Not if Lucy had anything to say about it. If young girls were being kidnapped in Mexico and marched across the ranch right under her family’s nose, she’d do everything in her power to convince her father to cooperate with the border patrol in order to stop this heinous crime.
The mine entrance remained boarded up and showed no signs of vandalism. “Is there another way in?” Tony asked.
“If there is, I don’t know about it.” Lucy followed Tony, stepping carefully over the
rocks scattered across the ground. The last thing she needed was a sprained ankle before her first bull ride.
Tony stopped to examine a deep crevice between a pair of large boulders.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Possibly a way in.” He switched on the flashlight then got down on his belly and slithered through the gap, affording Lucy a bird’s-eye view of his muscled buttocks. After he disappeared from sight, he shouted, “Wait there.”
Fat chance. Lucy glanced over her shoulder. “Maddie, stay.” The dog wagged her tail but remained focused on the brown-spotted gecko she’d cornered.
Dropping to her knees, Lucy wiggled through the rock opening.
“Figures you wouldn’t listen to me.” Tony had removed his sunglasses and scowled at her from across the dim chamber.
“And miss out on all the fun?” Lucy remained on her knees. “God, it stinks in here.” She pinched her nose and breathed through her mouth. “What’s that?” She pointed at the object in Tony’s hand.
“Cable tie.”
“Police use that when they arrest protesters.” Lucy shuddered at the idea of young girls being handcuffed and left in the dark.
“Look at that.” Tony pointed to the wall above Lucy’s head.
“What does it say?” She couldn’t make heads or tails out of the graffiti-like marks scratched into the rock.
“Gang symbols.” Tony approached the cavern wall and rubbed his finger over the stone. “That’s the Spanish word for kidnap.”
“Do you think one of the girls did that?” she asked.