Although it was late afternoon, all light was obliterated by the enormous black clouds rolling across the sky until it looked like midnight. Ridge had raced toward the meet-up on the north side of Maggie’s property, intent on beating the trucks. He’d have to give them credit: moving their contraband during a Texas downpour made things tricky on their end, and gave the cartel the advantage of being able to move with less traffic out and about, with people taking shelter from the elements.
He bit back a curse as hail pinged against the hood of his truck. Great, like he needed another distraction on top of everything else. Hoping against hope Shiloh kept Maggie contained at the house, he searched the inky blackness for the other members of his DEA team. Some of them he’d worked with before, a few he’d never met, but they were all good men.
When his phone vibrated, he answered on the first ring, “Boudreau.”
“We’ve got a problem.” The strain in Daniel’s voice more than the words told Ridge things were about to go sideways.
“What happened?”
“Our mark stopped outside of town. Diego Rivera got out and climbed into a sedan.”
Ridge leaned forward, resting his forearms against the steering wheel, and staring out through the windshield. “Did you see who was driving the car?”
“Couldn’t get a good look. All we know is it’s a woman.”
“Please tell me he’s not stopping to get a little nookie in the middle of a shipment. That would be the icing on top of this whole lousy day.” Ridge resisted the urge to bang his head on the steering wheel in frustration.
“They’re parked on the side of the road, in front of an ice cream place. Can’t tell what they’re doing. The trucks have stopped too. We’re playing wait-and-see. I want to get out of my car, go over and snatch his door open, yank him out and arrest him.”
“Patience, grasshopper,” Ridge joked. “He can’t sit there forever. We’re in the endgame here, and we’re gonna take him down.”
“I know. I’d simply like to go home to my wife and kid. It’s been weeks since—” Daniel broke off, and Ridge straightened in his seat, anticipation zinging through his blood. “They’re on the move, just pulled onto the street headed out of town.”
“We’re ready at this end.”
“South team radioed in, they’re all set,” he heard Roland’s voice respond. “Stay on the line, Ridge. I’ve got Rabbit and Maxwell posted on the south perimeter, half a mile past the entrance to Ms. White’s land. Simmons and Baker about a mile past them, and Garner and Fitzgerald as backup.” Funny how Roland sounded all businesslike and in control, nothing like the mousy accountant type he’d dealt with for the past few days. Ridge hadn’t though the meek-mannered guy had it in him to take charge. Guess he’d read him all wrong.
Keeping the line live, he sat in silence except for the booms of thunder directly overhead and the pounding rain, splatting against his truck’s windshield and hood. He’d shut off the wiper blades, cutting back on their distracting rhythm. He needed to stay sharp and focused. Right now, he knew where everybody on the north was positioned. He had double-checked their locations before parking his truck behind a large live oak, using its huge trunk and sprawling branches to obscure him from direct view.
Now it was a waiting game.
It seemed an eternity passed, though in reality it was probably only ten minutes, before Roland’s voice came through on his phone. “The car and both trucks are approaching. Repeat, the suspect vehicles are approaching. They just drove past the entrance to Ms. White’s property, headed west.”
It made sense. Maggie’s house faced directly south and the paved road ran east to west. Which meant they were headed in the right direction to access the undeveloped and heavily forested part of Maggie’s property. Excitement coursed through him. This was it. Every instinct, every ounce of intuition, screamed today was the day. No more waiting and watching, trying to figure out where and how the drugs were crossing Shiloh Springs County and Burnet County.
It looked like the DEA had finally built a better mousetrap and the rats were headed directly for it.
“Keep your eyes peeled, Daniel. The motion sensors and the fencing stop about a mile and a half past the gate. Anything after that’s fair game.”
“Roger that. We gotta hope they—”
Ridge straightened up his seat, adjusting his seatbelt as the phone abruptly cut off. Tossing his phone onto the seat beside him, he clicked on his wipers, clearing the steady stream of rain off his windshield. Fortunately, it seemed to have lessened some, from a monsoon. Though still heavy, the torrents of rain were a heck of a lot easier to see through.
Why wasn’t Daniel calling back?
The shrill ring of his phone nearly had him jumping out of his skin, and he grabbed it, hitting the speaker button. “What?”
“The car pulled over to the side of the road just past the turnoff, and the two trucks went around them and turned onto Ms. White’s property. Simmons and Baker moved in behind them, running without lights. Stand by. I repeat, stand by, and keep your eyes open. Abernathy and I are hanging back, watching the car Rivera’s in. Don’t know if they spotted the tail on the trucks, but so far, they haven’t made a move to follow or leave. They’re sitting with the headlights off.”
“We’ve got the north side covered,” Ridge heard the first team he’d spotted when he’d pulled up.
“Roger that, boss man, we’re here. They won’t get by us.” There was team two.
“I’m ready.” Ridge answered, and took a deep breath. He was more than ready to end this case. Drive a nail into its coffin, and get on with his life. Even more important, though, was clearing Maggie’s name, and proving she had nothing to do with running contraband across her land. He only prayed Shiloh managed to corral her and keep her at the house.
With the anticipation building, Ridge did the only thing he could.
He waited.
Maggie slid the Jeep to a stop in front of the tiny house. The electricity hadn’t gone off, thank goodness, because the lights from inside shone through the curtains framing the window beside the front door. Shiloh was first out of the car, but he waited for her. She immediately gave him a tight smile, knowing the next few minutes might be more than a little tense. The women inside the cabin were skittish in the best of circumstances. Throw in being in a strange place with torrential rains battering the world outside their door, and add in a strange man? Yeah, she could see all the things that could possibly go wrong with that scenario.
She glanced toward the wheels and groaned. They’d definitely sunk a couple of inches deep in the mud, which probably explained Isabelle’s thought that the house was sinking.
Change of plans. It was no longer safe for them to stay here. She’d have to load everybody up and take them back to her place. Not the ideal solution, but what else was she supposed to do, leave them here? Not happening.
Tugging her slicker closer around her, she pounded on the door, trying to be heard over the pouring rang and thunder. A pale-faced Isabelle answered the door, her son clinging to her leg.
“Everybody okay?” She was loath to step inside and track mud through the confined space, so she stuck her head inside the open doorway, and spotted Caroline and her kids sitting hunched around the minute table with its bench seating. It was obvious the children had been crying. Their eyes were red-rimmed, the half-eaten package of cookies in front of them sitting forlornly in the middle of the table.
“I’m sorry to be so much trouble. I…didn’t know what else to do.” Isabelle clutched the baby closer to her chest, never meeting Maggie’s eyes. Her heart squeezed in her chest, knowing this woman had learned to expect the worst from life, and wasn’t surprised when she didn’t get her happy ending.
“You are no trouble, I swear. Nobody expected anything like this. The weatherman predicted some rain. I think he miscalculated how much,” Maggie joked with a smile. “Here’s what we’re going to do. We are going to load everybody into my Jeep out there and I’m taking you to my house. There’s plenty of room, hot showers, and food. It’ll be a tight squeeze, but we’ll make it work.”
Maggie watched Isabelle start to nod, then she spotted Shiloh standing behind her. She took an involuntary step back, clutching the infant to her chest tight enough it let out an abrupt squeal.
“It’s okay, he’s here to help. This is Shiloh. He’s a friend.”
“Hello, ma’am.” Shiloh was smart and didn’t move any closer. Instead, he simply waved and nodded. Maggie knew if he was anything like his brother, he wanted to dive right in and take charge, but he stayed back, letting her run things her way. Yep, he was a smart man.
“Shiloh, why don’t you go and open all the Jeep’s doors, so everyone can stay as dry as they can?”
“I’m on it.” He sprinted around the Jeep, and she watched the interior light come on. He even opened the hatch in the back. Good idea, the kids could scramble in there. It might be a tight fit, but they’d manage. He even managed to snag the old Army blanket she kept tucked in the back corner.
Too bad I’m in love with his brother, because if I’d met him first…
Whoa! Wait a minute. Did she really just think that? Her hand rose to cover her mouth, trying to hold back her laugh. Talk about bad timing. Here she was in the middle of a monsoon, with a sinking house full of women and children on the run from their abusers, and she couldn’t stop thinking about being head-over-heels in love with Ridge.
“Maggie? Maggie?” Shiloh stood waving a hand in front of her face. “You ready to do this?”
“Yeah, let’s go.” Reaching up, she lightly took Isabelle’s hand. “Let’s get you out of here. Shiloh’s going to hold the blanket over your head, so you and the baby stay dry. Go and climb in the back seat. We’ll bring the kids out, let them crawl into the back. They’ll be okay back there.”
Without a word, Isabelle climbed down the steps and headed for the Jeep, while Shiloh walked beside her, holding the makeshift covering over her and the baby. After they’d settled, he came back, and did the same for Caroline. The three older kids didn’t hesitate, racing through the rain and clamoring into the back of the Jeep. Shiloh pulled down the back opening, and Maggie sprinted toward the driver’s side. Not that she made a lot of progress, because her feet sank inches deep in the mud with each slogging step. With a backward glance, she noted the tiny house had shifted further, the wheels buried at least two inches deeper in mud and muck.
Climbing behind the wheel, she headed back toward her house, driving slowly because she didn’t want to bog down halfway back. She pulled onto the semicircular drive in front of her house and let everybody out, leaving the Jeep parked there. It wouldn’t hurt anything to leave it out, and she’d move it in the morning. Right now, the priority was getting everybody warm, clean and dry.
Instinct took over and she directed everybody toward the extra bedrooms, assigning three of the spare rooms to the women and the kids. Taking a look at Shiloh, dripping all over her kitchen floor like a drowned rat, she put her hands on her hips and stared at him.
“Take the room down that hall,” she pointed toward the hall past the living room. “Second door on the right. It’s right next to Ridge’s room. Grab a shower and get warm. He’s probably got some spare clothes you can borrow.”
“Think they’ll be okay?” He jerked his head toward the upper floor.
“I think so. It’s been a rather chaotic day. I definitely wasn’t expecting Mother Nature to throw a monkey wrench into the works, but we’ll manage. I’m going to make some sandwiches, maybe some chips, so they can eat. I’ll fix you a couple, too.”
Shiloh grinned. “The way to a man’s heart, yada yada.”
Maggie chuckled, and shooed him away. “Go get cleaned up. I’ll grab a shower after you’re finished.”
“Maggie, you did great tonight. You kept your head, and because you did, it helped keep the women calm. What’s gonna happen now?”
She shrugged, and wrapped her arms across her stomach. “I need to make some calls. I’d made plans for them to stay a day or two here, where they’d be safe, before moving on to the next place. On the other end, they’ve got new IDs, and people to help them get settled. It’s all more than a little overwhelming.”
“But you’re making a difference. Once you’ve got this handled though, we need to talk. Because I can’t let you do this again. Wait,” he held his hand up when she started to protest. “You’re doing a good thing, helping victims of abuse. I’m talking about the less-than-legal part of it. I get the feeling you care about my brother. I know he cares about you a lot. But having you on the wrong side of the law, even though your intent is honorable—it’s not gonna work.”
Maggie drew in a shuddering breath. “I know. I’ve been a total wreck this whole time. Worried about the women. Worried about the kids. Worried I wasn’t doing enough. Worried that I’d get caught and ruin things for all the others working so hard to help. Every way I turned was a challenge and a nightmare rolled into one ball of nerves.”
“I know some people who might be able to help. You and I, we’re gonna talk. Once we get Isabelle and Caroline and the kids off on the next leg of their incredible journey, we’ll figure out a way to legally and ethically help deserving women and men get the help they need. Agreed?”
Maggie felt her eyes fill with tears at Shiloh’s unexpected offer of help. She’d never imagined in a million years that a stranger would step up. Though Shiloh didn’t feel like a stranger. He was too much like his brother. The man who’d somehow, in such a short period of time, burrowed his way into her life and into her heart. She couldn’t imagine her life without him.
“You okay?”
She gave Shiloh a quivering smile. “Yeah, I think I am. Go, get your shower and clean up. I’m going to fix some food for my guests.”
Shiloh studied her, his stare intent. Finally, he gave a nod and walked away. Spinning on her heel, Maggie pulled open the refrigerator door, and started grabbing things to make sandwiches.
One crisis averted, but she had the feeling it was going to be a long night.