The Cattleman

by Angi Morgan

  Nick’s hand in her face cut her off. She listened for movement as intently as her partner. The faint sound of pebbles peppering against other rocks grew louder.

  That wasn’t an animal sound. It was boots scuffing rock. Footsteps. It was Bishop’s men.

  Knife in hand, Nick shook his head, painstakingly retreating nearer to her in amazing silence. An electronic ping of a cell phone split the void. Neither she nor Nick moved or even twitched. No one walked on the path in front of them. No one answered the cell and no one stuck a gun in their face.

  Her muscles had ached before this. Now the faint beginnings of another cramp was about to seize her calf. If she pointed her toe, she’d stretch into the branches hiding them and give away their location.

  She tapped on Nick’s bare shoulder, pointed to her leg, then cupped her hand over her mouth. He shifted the knife to his left hand and firmly gripped her calf and massaged it, relaxing the tense muscle. She kept her eyes wide, waiting for their intruder to find them. Nick asked her silently if her leg was okay, and she nodded. Then her stomach growled. A ginormous roar that put a priceless look on the cattleman’s face. At any other time she would have snapped a picture and used it for social-media fun.

  But not now.

  Please be gone. Please be gone. Please be gone. They needed a break.

  They waited several more minutes. Nick was at the ready to defend her and she’d be right behind him doing her part. They made a good team. She decided then that as soon as the opportunity came up, she’d talk to him about being “his girl.”

  “The quail’s back. I don’t think anyone’s out there now. Ready to get going? We’ll keep it quiet, stay close to any juniper you see. Does that coat have metal?” He turned toward her, using the knife to slice all the buttons and drop them to the dirt. “With the sun out today, we don’t want any reflections drawing attention to our location.”

  “You know, you’re pretty good at this, Nick Burke.”

  “I watch a lot of Westerns.”

  His smile tugged on her heartstrings. She wanted to set the record straight about their relationship right then, but they didn’t have the time. And if she kissed him instead...?

  Wrong place. Wrong time.

  “Give me a sec to take a look around.” He left, putting the cut branches back in place to hide her.

  Feeling helpless wasn’t her style. She’d had a plan since junior high when writing a paper on possible careers. She’d chosen the DEA. She’d mapped out her plan, argued with her parents, put herself through school totally confident in her choice the entire time. She’d put up with the discriminating remarks because she was a woman. They had made her tougher. And she’d helped capture and put away criminals she never wanted to think about again.

  So why did walking next to a hot cowboy make her all gaga? She’d dated in Chicago—at least every once in a while.

  She stretched her tired arms and legs. How long should she wait? He hadn’t said.

  No permission was needed. She was a trained agent. She could make her own decisions. She was scooting forward when Nick cleared the opening and helped her stand.

  “No one’s in sight. Beth, I wanted you to know that I’m sorry for bringing Bishop down on you.”

  “Oh, my— You thought that getting caught by Bishop would give you answers, didn’t you? Did you get them? Putting both our lives at risk that way? What if they’d just shot us and been done with it? How would you have said you’re sorry then?”

  “That’s not it. I’d never... Think whatever you want.” He pointed to the north. “You’ll be able to see the river in no time. Once you’re there, head into the sun and you should run into someone who doesn’t work for Bishop.”

  “You’re talking like you won’t be there, too.”

  “I found their tracks, and I’m doubling back. I’ll take the men following us by surprise. Maybe take a gun or a phone. They won’t know what hit them.”

  “Alone? How will you hit them? With sticks and stones? They have the weapons, not us.” She couldn’t let him do it. “I can’t believe you expect me to just let you go back on your own. You do remember that I’m the one that carries a damn badge and gun, right?”

  “I did not forget.” He rubbed his face and she thought he rolled his eyes.

  It didn’t matter. It wasn’t a smart move and he needed to accept it. “What do you hope to gain?”

  “A phone.”

  “That’s ridiculous. We can’t face them without backup. How close are we to the kayak place?”

  He crossed his arms. “As tired as we are? Another hour or two. There’s no guarantee that someone’s there.”

  “So we’ll break in. There will be no doubling back. No throwing sticks or stones. No debate. Yes, call me any name you want. It won’t change my mind. We’re going to find a way back to Marfa and take Bishop down.”

  The DEA agent was back issuing orders and this time she knew which direction to head as she walked away.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “I’m sure I can pick out the location of Bishop’s compound from satellite photos, sir. And I have a working theory how to find the inside man at the Rocking B— Yes, sir. I know that avenue was pursued, but— Yes, sir, I did hear you that the investigation is closed. But regarding the shooting, if I may explain my reasons...”

  Nick turned from the hallway where he’d been listening through the open door for a good half hour. Each time Beth began to explain to her superiors what had happened, they cut her off. Each time she began to lay out a plan, they cut her off. She was getting nowhere with the DEA and he was ready to get home.

  He’d spoken to his mom and dad on the way to the hospital in Alpine. He convinced them that driving two hours to the hospital wasn’t necessary and had thought he’d be home before they could make the trip. That was before he’d remembered that government bureaucracy was involved. Nothing went fast with that around.

  Two cracked ribs, a hairline fracture across his nose, they’d finally made it to the sheriff’s office in Marfa—more than half a day later.

  Official statements. More questions. Diagrams. Shoot, they’d even gotten a sketch artist from Austin to work with him over a webcam. The one thing they hadn’t asked him about was getting home. They were too concerned with capturing Bishop and blocking his next move.

  No one showed signs of heading in the direction of the ranch anytime soon. Beth looked his way every few minutes while he grew impatient. His statement had been taken and he was done. At least he assumed he was. McCrea had asked him to wait in the sheriff’s personal office. After pacing those short four walls and then the length of the hallway avoiding Beth’s call, he finally landed out front at reception.

  “Mind if I use the phone, Miss Honey?”

  Everyone called her Honey and called her sister Peach. The dispatchers insisted their nicknames were better than Wilhelmina and Winafretta.

  “There’s one in the empty office behind you, Nick,” said the older receptionist who did double duty as a dispatcher.

  “Thanks.”

  “You giving up on them and want a ride home?” she asked.

  “Yes, ma’am.” He wrapped his arm close to his side, holding the sore ribs. “I’m about all done in.”

  “Your parents will be glad to have you home safe.”

  He’d been expecting to hear from them for a while now. Wishing they would barge in like when he was a teenager and had driven to Alpine to buy beer using a fake ID. That trip they’d left him in jail overnight to teach him a lesson. Pete’s dad had been sheriff at the time and had made Nick clean the building for a month.

  “I’m surprised mom hasn’t been calling every half hour.”

  “Who says she hasn’t?” Honey laughed and waved him toward the empty office. “Would you like me to tell them you need a ride after all? I don’t blame you for wanting some peace and quiet. It’s been a regular circus around here for a good while now. You hungry? I’m taking an order for the café.”r />
  “No, thanks. We ate right before we got here.” His stomach was starting to grumble. Not as loudly as Beth’s had a tendency to do.

  “That was three hours ago. You sure? I heard you two went without food for a while. And, Nick Burke, you are already skin and bones. You need to put some meat back on that tall frame of yours.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Thanks, anyway, but I think mom made us a pan of biscuits.” He took another step closer to the phone. Maybe, if he was lucky, he’d catch one of the hands still at the house.

  “Your momma sure does know how to make biscuits. You should think twice before you run off again, young man. Okay? Your daddy said your momma was worried sick. Of course she said the same thing about him. They practically lived online while you were missing.”

  “Online? What do you mean?” He moved closer to Honey’s desk, away from the old sheriff’s office and Beth’s conversation.

  “They were emailing and chatting with people to see if there was any sign or news of you. I did what I could, but as you know, we didn’t have any idea where you’d been taken.”

  “I, um...” He’d spent so little time at the house during the day that he had no clue how his parents used their time. “I never pictured my mom and dad hanging out anywhere, especially online.”

  “Oh, yeah. Your dad cracks me up with some of the stories from his buds in his support group,” Beth said coming up behind him.

  “Do you have a way out of here yet?” he asked.

  “Sure. I just got some keys from Pete.” She moved to his side and dangled them in front of him like a shiny fish lure. “He’s loaning me a service vehicle to pick up my stuff.”

  “’Night, Honey.”

  “Take care of yourself. If not for you, then do it for your mother.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Being treated like a teenager didn’t bother him. He might be thirty years old, but this was Marfa. He’d worried his parents by taking off like a child. It didn’t matter that the reason had seemed legitimate. There were other ways to deal with the situation. As several people in his life—and some on the internet—had suggested, it was time to seek out professional help to get rid of the nightmares.

  Beth led the way through the halls of the county building. He followed her through the solid door into another clear night. She clicked the set of keys and headlights flashed across a sea of white Tahoes.

  Nick snatched the keys from her fingers. “You drive like a maniac. No way am I letting you drive us home.”

  “But this is an official Sheriff’s Department vehicle.”

  “I promise to drive it like a regular Tahoe and not sound the siren.” He quickened his steps just in case she tried to take the keys back. She probably could drop him on the pavement before he knew what had hit him.

  “Oh, I’m fairly certain that you have no intention of keeping that promise. Do you?”

  “Nope.” He turned the key, got the engine going, but took a minute to look at all the extras the county vehicle sported.

  “Did I hear you tell Honey— By the way, it is so hard to call a grown woman that. It makes me feel silly.”

  “Tell her what?” They were officially out of Marfa and on their way home.

  She yawned. “Guess I’m a little more tired than I thought. Anyway, did you tell Honey that your mom had made biscuits? My taste buds are watering just thinking of the possibility.”

  “Mom said she would this afternoon. You know, I can’t remember the last time we had leftover biscuits. They never last that long around her kitchen.”

  “Stop, stop, stop. You’re making me hungrier.” She laughed.

  “You, um, planning on driving back to Marfa tonight?” he asked, trying not to sound too concerned. He wasn’t certain how he felt about that. He’d spent the past couple of hours wondering how he would get into her room without being heard by his parents or sneak them both to the hayloft in the barn. He hadn’t really given much time to how he would stay away.

  “No. I’ve been ordered back to Chicago.”

  Now he didn’t have to wonder about it. She was leaving. He couldn’t open his mouth and ask her to stay. She had a job. She had a life. One that didn’t include him.

  “The key word here, Nick, is ordered. It’s not like I want to return before this case is finished. But it’s not my decision.”

  “You’d be going back eventually.”

  “That’s true. But I want to find the man spying on your ranch for Bishop. I want to take Bishop down. Every time I think about what he did to you... He’s a monster and I want to be the one to stop him.”

  “Weren’t you just reminded that there is no spy or informant?” He’d surely been reminded of it enough by Pete.

  “There has to be. Someone is telling Bishop about your movements.”

  “I don’t know, Beth. You haven’t been around the men or their families like I have. Some of them I’ve known for over a decade. Who would you choose?”

  His gut had been telling him there was more to his shooting, screaming at him not to trust a soul on his ranch and maybe only a few in town.

  She buried her face in her hands, her ebony hair creating a curtain between them. “I don’t know. None of them, really. They’ve all been so kind.” She shoved her hair back, unconsciously fluffing it into place. A gesture that he’d come to expect and enjoy.

  He didn’t want her to go. It hit him so hard that he gripped the wheel too tightly and caused the Tahoe to swerve.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah, just thinking.” Thinking that it had been an intense month of a friendship or a relationship. And she was preparing to gather her things and leave.

  “Oh, my gosh, what if it’s not anyone who works at the ranch at all?”

  “I don’t follow. No one’s believed there is an informant, so you’re finally agreeing with them?”

  “I think it’s your parents. By accident of course.”

  “Now hold on a minute—”

  “They’re online, Nick. Don’t you get it? It’s someone they think to be their friend online. Bishop could be discussing recipes with your mom or pretending to be someone with cancer in your father’s support group.”

  Nick turned off the main road, heading across the half mile to the house. “What do we do if it is? How do we catch someone who technically doesn’t exist?”

  “Don’t discount that it may be a real person. Mac was in it for the money, and someone else could be, too. Several ranchers and their wives are talking to your parents. You heard Honey back at the station. Everybody knew how worried your parents were.”

  “It might be spread out, but it’s basically a small town. You don’t have to be on the internet to know what’s going on. It’s not Chicago.”

  “Hmph. Don’t I know it.”

  He didn’t look at her. He couldn’t. She was leaving and he had to face that fact. Get over it fast. If he wanted her help, he had to accept that their relationship wasn’t going to move to the next level. He should be used to that.

  Stop brooding like an old hen and find the traitor.

  “We need to find the informant without alerting him that we’re looking,” Beth said. “Thing is, I’m off the task force and I’ve been ordered back to Chicago, so I won’t be much help from there. Promise me you’ll stay close to the ranch until they find Bishop. Remember that he wants you dead.”

  “We can use that to our advantage. If I don’t leave the ranch, he’ll have to send someone there to finish me off.”

  “Don’t talk like that. But you’re right. I’d feel more comfortable if you had a protective detail—”

  “No. We know the task force doesn’t believe there’s a threat.”

  He pulled in front of the house. The headlights passed across his parents sitting on the porch swing. His dad stood, gripped the column, waiting. Nick could see the tension in his father’s face. When had he gotten so haggard? All through the chemo he’d been feisty. Tired, but as ornery as usual.

>   “Then who’s going to help you, Nick? And don’t say you don’t need it. Someone has to watch your back, and you need help going through the hundreds of online friends your parents have.”

  Bishop wanted him dead and he was using an informant to get the information to do it. What would happen to his parents then? How haggard would his dad be the next time? That was if he returned after a next time.

  “Stay.”

  “I’d need a legitimate reason that doesn’t concern this case. You should know—”

  “You could marry me.”

  “What?” Her long, loose hair whipped around her like a fan as she faced him so quickly.

  “We can turn the first fake engagement that everyone knew about into a real fake engagement that only a few people know about.” Then she’d be around for a while longer, which would be fine by him.

  “Do you think it would work? You’d really have to play it up to make everyone believe it.”

  “Not a problem.” He wouldn’t be acting. He’d be convincing her to stay. “What about your job?”

  “I’d like to finish this assignment. I...I could arrange for some leave.” Filtered light from the porch lit her face through the windshield, exposing a moment of sadness. She had to be worried about keeping her job if they found out.

  “If you can take time off from your job, I can promise to stay put on the ranch.”

  “Excellent. But if you want this to work, absolutely no one can know it’s fake. Especially not your parents.”

  Guess she wasn’t heading back to Chicago after all.

  * * *

  NICK WRAPPED HIS long fingers around Beth’s shoulders, pulling her to the middle of the Tahoe. The clean jacket someone had given her after the hospital caught on the seat belt, preventing her from getting closer. She couldn’t look away from the power he radiated. Whatever he’d intended to say, it looked to be important.

  “You know what you’re asking? You want me to lie to my parents and have them lie to whoever they talk to. But I’m willing to do that, Beth. Very willing if you tell me how we reach the end game and ferret out the weasel taking advantage of them. And—” His voice raised a little, but he caught himself and spoke normally again. “And if you do find this guy, I don’t want my parents to know they may have been responsible for getting us abducted.”