The next day, Brent was anything but happy. Christopher and Ethan had left to go check out Adriana’s ideas regarding where Garcia could be. With Trevor already gone undercover again and searching for Carmen, that meant they were down to four at the ranch—Colt, Austin, Ford and Brent.
There was also the chance that their numbers might drop even further. Vance wasn’t satisfied with their waiting at the ranch for Garcia to show up. He might send one of their group off to chase a different lead. Maybe the drug lord knew the Rangers guarded the place and that was what held him off. They walked a dangerous, precarious line between wanting to get their hands on Garcia and protecting his sister from him.
But what if he also knew they were spread too thin today?
Someone could be off in the distance across the river, watching them and reporting in to Garcia. Brent and his fellow Rangers remained outside, watching the perimeter for most of the unusually chilly day. When Adriana brought him a mug of hot coffee, he wrapped his hands around it.
“You shouldn’t be out here,” he warned. “But I appreciate it.”
Her eyes lit up. “You’re out here because of me. What else was I supposed to do? Let you freeze?”
He chuckled.
But her playfulness turned to a grimace. “Seriously, it can’t be good for you to be out here in the weather all day.”
“I won’t lie. I feel the cold all the way to my bones. But I’ll live. I’m here to protect you, so I’m going to need you to go back in the house and stay there, Adriana. Just until our Ranger numbers are back up. Please. Don’t leave the house again. Someone could take you out or harm you from a distance. You do understand that, right?” Add to that, you’re too much of a distraction for me.
She nodded and started back.
“And, at any moment, feel free to change your mind and let me take you to a safe house.”
“I don’t want to be caged like a prisoner.” Adriana kept going and didn’t wait for his response.
He could understand that she hated being locked away even though it would be in a safe house, when it was her brother who needed to be incarcerated. But if she was imprisoned in her own home anyway, why not go to a safe house?
That evening, he switched out with Austin for a warm meal inside with Inez. What a strange little family they all were, gathered during the holidays for extenuating circumstances beyond imagination.
Refusing to be served, he ladled stew into a bowl. “This isn’t necessary, you know.”
“I know,” Inez said. “You keep telling us that, and yet here you are, eating the stew.” Her eyes crinkled with her smile, accenting her warmth-infused eyes. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Where is she?” Brent had hoped to see Adriana when he came to the house.
Inez gestured with her eyes to the ceiling above. “In her room, pouting, I think. She doesn’t like this prison of her own home.”
“I wouldn’t insist if there was another way to keep her safe. But now that her location is likely known, she’s too at risk from snipers to be walking around outside.”
“She understands, even if she doesn’t like it. We both see you’re here to protect us. I know you’ll do right by my Adriana. I think of her as my own, you know? When she first came to me, bruised and broken, and I cared for her, she filled a hole in my life. My husband has been dead for fifteen years. If it weren’t for the llamas, I would’ve had no reason to keep going, and then Adriana needed me.”
“Seems like you needed each other.”
Inez patted his arm as she chuckled. “You’re right. We needed each other then and we need each other now, especially since we’ve added poor Rosa to the fold. And we need you, Ranger McCord.” Inez pinned him with her gaze.
He suddenly felt the weight of his burden to protect these three women, the responsibility that he’d taken upon himself, made even heavier with Inez’s words and her serious expression.
He lowered his soup bowl. “You know to call me Brent, right? I spent Christmas Day with you, remember?” He grinned, hoping to add levity. “So I’d say we’re on friendlier terms.”
She chuckled. “I don’t disagree. But I called you Ranger McCord to remind you of that part of the equation. I’ll call you Brent now, since you brought up that you’re connected to our little family in a more personal way. I trust you to protect Adriana, even if that means you must take her from here. Do you understand me?”
“I tried that already. She won’t go to a safe house. Maybe you should be the one to convince her, Inez.”
The woman shook her head. “She’s determined to end this here at the llama ranch, I think.”
Brent stood taller, suddenly understanding better where this conversation was going. “But you don’t want that.”
Again, she shook her head. “I think her determination, her stubbornness, has clouded her judgment. And she doesn’t want to seem weak. I think maybe...maybe she wants to face off with her brother one last time. Face off with him and win. And that scares me, more than I can express. I don’t see how that could end well for her.” Sadness filled Inez’s eyes.
“Why don’t you tell her this? Tell her how scared for her that you are. She respects you and listens to you,” he said. “You have more influence over her than I do.”
“I have no influence over her—she cares for me, but she is a grown woman who makes her own decisions. Tell me, Ranger McCord. Tell me, Brent, that you can keep her safe if she stays here. That you can keep us all safe. I sense the tension rolling off all of you as you come and go. This is no place to be when Rio Garcia shows up.”
“Inez.” Her words squeezed his chest. “If you can’t talk sense into Adriana, then you and Rosa should go to a safe house. Let me at least take you there.”
“Like I could leave her...” Tears pooled in the woman’s eyes.
“For Rosa’s sake, then.”
Frustration boiled in his gut. Oh, God, please help me to do the right thing. To say the right thing. Brent wanted to reassure this woman, but he wouldn’t lie to her. She deserved his honesty rather than false comfort.
Then Adriana suddenly appeared from around the corner, unshed tears in her eyes. She rushed to Inez and hugged her. When she released the older woman, Adriana looked at them both. “I’m sorry, I eavesdropped. I...I heard you talking about me and I couldn’t help it. I waited to hear what you would say. I’m sorry that I’ve been so selfish, Inez. You’re right when you say I want to end this standoff with my brother here at the ranch, but this has been your home for decades. I’m putting your home, you and Rosa in danger by staying. Forgive me.”
“There’s nothing to forgive,” Inez said and hugged Adriana to her again.
When Inez let go of her, Adriana glanced at Brent. “Take us to this safe house of yours, Ranger McCord.”
He grinned, glad they had finally come to an agreement. “I’m glad to hear that.” She had no idea how glad. “I’ll make all the arrangements. You ladies go ahead and pack a few clothes and personal items. The sooner we get out of here, the better. Please inform Rosa for me, too.”
His cell rang, startling them. He glanced at the display. It was Vance. “I have to take this call.” Perfect timing. He could arrange for transportation to the safe house.
Adriana and Inez nodded. Inez disappeared into the kitchen to put away the stew bowls, and Adriana headed upstairs presumably to pack. Things were beginning to go their way. Next he would try to persuade her to give up the location of the drugs and the cash. But he doubted that would happen until they nailed Garcia, or until she truly felt safe. Adriana believed the drugs and cash were her only leverage against her brother, should he get his hands on her. Who could blame her?
Brent answered the call. “McCord here.”
“Her suggestions paid off...to a point,” Vance said.
“What happened?”
“We got our hands on two henchmen at the old mission—we’re working with the Mexican authorities to question them. Haven’t heard from Ethan about the bay area. They might not even be there yet.”
“The guys snagged at the mission. What did they say? Any hints about where we can find Garcia?”
“No. They won’t give him up. Maybe we’ll catch up with him at the bay.”
Brent opened his mouth to say that Adriana had agreed to move to a safe house...but then he sensed it, felt the whir in his gut an instant before a concussive blast rocked the house. The force throwing his body against the wall.
* * *
Whomp.
Wind rushed through her, sucking the oxygen from her lungs. The floor beneath her lifted. The ceiling crumpled. Adriana struggled to stand. To breathe.
The window! She needed to get to the window. To get out of the house that seemed to be collapsing around her!
The tall chest of drawers against the wall toppled toward her. Screams erupted from her throat, but she couldn’t hear them over the explosive sound. Nor could she escape the dresser.
Images of Inez, Rosa...and Brent...worry and fear for them accosted her at the same instant she feared her own death. Was it moments away? Time seemed to slow as everything—the walls and the ceiling and the furniture—came crashing down around her.
She dropped to the cracked floor next to the bed and covered her head, uncertain if the floor would fall out from under her. Or if she would be crushed under it all as the world around her exploded and collapsed.
“God, please help us!” But she couldn’t hear her own cries, her own screams, for the ringing in her ears.
The dresser crashed into the bed, and when Adriana lifted her head, she realized it had cocooned her. Chunks of the ceiling littered the floor, which blessedly hadn’t buckled under her. She stayed still, afraid that movement on her part would cause something to shift. But worry for the others overcame her fear.
“Inez! Rosa!” she called. “Brent!”
Oh, it was no use. With her ears ringing, she couldn’t hear anything. Couldn’t hear if someone had replied to her call or needed her help. She would have to move from the relative safety of her spot, despite the possible consequences. Carefully, Adriana crawled backward, out from under the cover of the dresser. A hand gripped her arm and pulled her up to stand.
Brent. Momentary relief whooshed through her.
A gash in his temple gushed blood. Dust and plaster coated his face and clothes, turned his hair gray.
“You’re hurt.” She lifted her hand to touch the wound, then drew back.
He pressed his forefinger to his lips, then pointed out the window. Motioned with his fingers that others were coming.
Others as in the Texas Rangers on the property? Or others as in whoever had planted this bomb right under their noses? But she saw the truth in his worried eyes, in his protective demeanor, as he took her hand, his gun drawn, and pulled her from the room. The staircase had been destroyed.
“Inez, Rosa...” she whispered. Brent watched her lips. “Are they okay?”
“I’ll find them.” He spoke so she could read his lips, too.
Brent used the structural two-by-fours that were now visible to climb down and then drop to the first floor. He assisted Adriana down as far as he could, then caught her in his arms when she dropped. He set her on her feet. Though brief, his embrace had been warm and strong.
Reassuring.
He started moving away, but she grabbed him. He turned back to her.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
He looked thoughtful for a moment, then appeared to shake off confusion. “Your hiding place. Where is it?”
Adriana glanced around the destroyed house, grief rendering her paralyzed, fear squeezing her throat. Brent gripped her shoulders and shook her. “Where?”
She pointed down the hallway now blocked with rubble—the remnants of the house. How would they get through the mess? How would they know if the tunnel was still intact? She didn’t follow Brent but instead let her gaze search the wreckage. Covered in gray dust, a bloody arm extended out from underneath fallen Sheetrock.
Her heart plummeted.
“Oh, no!” She scrambled over the debris and made her way to the bloodied hand. Removed chunks of furniture and ceiling while hot tears streamed down her face.
Brent appeared at her side and in one fell swoop he moved the pile of Sheetrock and broken two-by-fours.
“Oh, Inez...” For a moment, Adriana couldn’t bear to look at her injured friend and turned her face away. Oh, Jesucristo, help her...
She forced her gaze back to Inez. The woman, her dear friend, deserved Adriana’s full attention and aid. This woman had nursed her back to health once, had saved her in more ways than she could put to words. Adriana had brought this suffering down on her. How would she ever get over the guilt?
Brent pressed his hand against Inez’s carotid artery. “She’s alive.”
Adriana actually heard his words this time, but her hearing remained slightly impaired. Gunfire resounded somewhere outside the destroyed home. Palming his weapon, Brent aimed it in the direction from which the shots were coming—the blast had taken out the entire house on that side.
“What are we going to do?” Adriana whispered as she brushed Inez’s hair from her forehead. “We can’t leave Inez here.”
“I’m afraid to move her. We could make her injuries worse.”
“And what about Rosa?” Adriana’s heart felt like it had been crushed along with everything else in the house. “Rosa!”
“Quiet, Adriana,” Brent whispered. “We don’t want to draw the attackers to us. That won’t help Inez or Rosa, either.”
“Right. Like they aren’t already headed this way to make sure I’m dead!” How could this have happened? But she understood their strategy now. Planting a bomb in the house had wreaked havoc. Broken through the protective walls—and made her realize even with the Rangers here, she had never been safe. Had Gregario already planted the bomb when she found him, planning to detonate it with one word from Rio?
Brent’s gaze shot around the rubble. “There. I want you to hide in that corner. It looks relatively stable. Get down in there and hide. Let me take care of this.”
Adriana nodded, though she wanted to argue. She understood that distracting him wouldn’t do either of them any good. She scrambled over to the corner and hid behind the fallen boards. Gunfire rang through the house. Her brother’s men were getting closer now. Adriana squeezed her eyes shut and tried to keep from screaming. She was helpless.
Helpless to save her friends.
Helpless to assist Brent.
But she could pray, and she whispered under her breath. “Lord, Jesucristo, please save us from the evil in this world. Save us from the men who did this. Please keep Rosa safe, wherever she is, and help Inez to get better. Send help!”
She opened her eyes and peeked through the boards. Another round of gunfire resounded. Brent jerked back with a pained grunt. Had he been hit?