The Millionaire Cowboy's Secret

Chapter 15



In Matt’s kitchen, a room she still loved, Skylar made herself a cup of tea and sat at his kitchen table, staring out at the perfectly landscaped patio. She knew how badly it was tearing him apart—he’d lived for years focused on revenge. Now he’d not only begun to realize it would be futile, but he was having all his carefully constructed plans ripped away from him by the cleverness of a monster.

Several things could happen to Diego Rodriguez. He could get killed by the very organization he was attempting to leave, he could get lucky and get away with the ammunition, or he could be arrested by the ATF and deported back to Mexico. But he wouldn’t be meeting his end at Matt’s hands. Killing him wouldn’t solve anything. Matt wouldn’t get his shot at revenge.

José’s rescue was another story. Whether or not José was truly being held captive, for now she’d go with Matt, who believed in his friend. José didn’t deserve to die this way. And she truly doubted he’d get any help from the ATF. Her own agency would be too intent on the situation with La Familia, Diego Rodriguez and the ammunition stockpile.

Only, it didn’t have to be that way. They—she and Matt—could work together to rescue José. If, as an added bonus, Diego Rodriguez got caught in the cross fire, so be it. Matt was a sharpshooter, after all. She’d even gone so far as to mention that he could defend her. From there, it was a short leap to what else he could do.

And while she, as a federal agent who had a duty to uphold the law, couldn’t point out the obvious to him, she could see it clear as day. Diego didn’t know Matt’s real identity or what he’d done to Matt’s family.

She didn’t know if their plan would work. But Matt had absolutely nothing else to lose.

Her cell phone rang. David. “McLain speaking,” she said.

“We got the search warrant,” her boss said without preamble.

“You did?” Surprised and a little disappointed, Skylar sighed. “That was quick.”

“We have a damn good case,” David informed her. “We’ve got two teams en route to the location now.”

Damn. Time had truly run out.

“Did you learn where exactly it is?”

“Yes. How familiar are you with the ranch?” Without waiting for Skylar to answer, David pressed on. “Apparently on the eastern boundary, there’s a hilly area, one with lots of large rocks. There are some large caves out there. Mr. Landeta has had them outfitted with steel doors, similar to those in a bank vault.”

Skylar cursed. “I’ve been near there. That’s where that gun battle occurred, the one I wrote about in my report. It’s near an old gravel farm-to-market road.”

“That’s where our people will be in place. You need to get out now. Fair warning—it’s going to be a danger zone.”

“What about the sharpshooter?”

“Sharpshooter?” David said the word as though it were foreign and he didn’t comprehend its meaning.

“You said you’d try to spare resources to help us free José Nivas. Remember?” No way was Skylar letting her boss off the hook for this one. No way in hell.

“I’ll see what I can do,” David said, but Skylar could tell it was an empty promise. As her boss disconnected the call, Skylar knew she and Matt were completely on their own. If José was going to be rescued, they would have to be the ones to do it.

When she hung up, she raised her head and saw Matt watching her.

“I called Diego,” he said. “He’s agreeable to an exchange tomorrow at dusk.”

Interesting timetable, she thought. “He wants to do it right when all hell is going to break loose. I told you José was just a distraction.”

“Assuming Diego even knows that La Familia is on their way,” he countered. “But you’re right. Diego is planning something. He wants the exchange to happen here, in the parking lot in front of the ranch office. Who called you?”

“That was my boss at the ATF. They got the warrant. They have teams on their way now. They’ll be in place by the time this whole thing goes down.”

He nodded. “And they’re going to help us get José out?”

Again, she’d give him complete honesty. She could do nothing less. “He said he’d see what he could do. But I’m thinking it’s going to be up to you and me. You’re going to have to be our sharpshooter,” she told Matt. “That is, if you’re willing to focus on José’s rescue rather than getting ahold of Diego Rodriguez.”

“I think you already know the answer to that,” he said, lifting a case and placing it on the table. Opening it, he gestured for her to take a look. “This is my rifle.” Outfitted with a scope, the gun appeared to be military issue.

“So you’ll be the sharpshooter?”

“I can handle that,” he said.

“Good.” She took a deep breath, knowing he wouldn’t like what she had to say next. “I’m going to go out there for the exchange. I’ll need you to cover me.”

He froze. For a second she thought he’d contradict her. Instead, his gaze sharpened as he studied her. Finally, he nodded.

“There’s no way in hell I’m going to let you come to harm.” He sounded fierce, as fierce as the hard, possessive kiss he gave her. “Do you understand?”

“I know you won’t.” She grinned. “Just to be on the safe side, I’m going to get the bulletproof vest from my car.” Even though the damn thing weighed close to ten pounds and was uncomfortable and hot, wearing it could save her life. Since most people aimed for the chest or back rather than the head, it was the best protection she could get.

“Go ahead and get it,” Matt said. “While you’re out there, grab your stuff and bring Talia up to the house. Both of you are staying with me from now on. There’s no reason why the cartel would wait. I think this will be going down any moment now. While it’s just us here at the ranch, I don’t want to take the chance of either of you being in any kind of danger.”

Grateful and moved beyond words, she nodded. The thought had already occurred to her, too. José knew she was staying in the little camper. Anyone wanting to target the ATF agent would go there. No way was she risking her beloved dog.

As she turned to do as he’d asked, Matt fell into step beside her. “I’ll go with you,” he said. “Until this is over, I’m not going to leave your side.”

* * *

That night, though she tried, she couldn’t sleep. Though they didn’t speak about it, she knew Matt lay wide-awake at her side, going over various scenarios in his mind the same way she was.

In the morning, he rose before she did and padded off to the bathroom. She sat up, gritty-eyed, and whistled for Talia. After she’d taken her dog out, Skylar headed for the guest bathroom to shower and dress.

Today they were both warriors rather than lovers. Neither of them needed any distractions.

After breakfast, Matt showed her the remote surveillance cameras he’d installed near the caves. “They also have a sensor that alerts me if anyone gets close to them.”

Studying the live feed, she nodded. “Are we waiting here until we see activity on the camera, or do you have something else in mind?”

“We’re not waiting here” was all he said.

For the third time in twenty minutes, she glanced at her watch. This was the part she always hated, the waiting. Once she went into action, she didn’t have so much time to think.

“Let’s go over the plan at least once,” Matt said. “Assuming, that is, that you actually have one.”

“Of course I do,” she scoffed. “It’s simple. When it comes time to make the exchange, I walk out there, count to five and tell José to drop to the ground. You take out his handlers, and we get the hell out. There’s no way we could mess this up.”

“Right.” He looked away from her. They both knew that was a lie.

She ached to soothe him. “It’s going to be all right.”

“I know,” he grumbled. “But speaking from personal experience, rule number one is that nothing ever goes as simply as you planned it.”

“True.” She flashed him a quick smile. “There’s a reason Diego set up the exchange at the opposite end of the ranch from your ammo. You do understand it’s entirely possible we might not make it back there in time, right?”

His eyes flashed an emotion that could have been anger or frustration. “In time for what? From what you tell me, the ATF will have people positioned all over the place. Diego will either be dead or captured if he puts in an appearance there.”

She studied him. He sounded way too calm. “You don’t expect him to, do you?”

“No,” he admitted. “He’s too valuable in his brand-new organization to put himself in danger. I doubt he’ll even show up for the José exchange. He’ll be somewhere nearby, close enough to keep an eye on things but completely out of the line of fire.”

She caught the leashed excitement in his voice and realized he was still thinking of his revenge. “Do you think you can figure out where he’ll be?”

The shrug he gave her was too studied, too casual, and she realized if he did, he had no plans of clueing her in. With a flash of insight, she realized what he meant to do once José was safe. No matter what the cost, Matt was going hunting, even if he had to follow Diego Rodriguez into Mexico.

This knowledge crushed her. But conversely, it also strengthened her resolve. She wouldn’t let him self destruct like this, not if it was within her power to stop it.

She’d have to stay one step ahead of him somehow. “I disagree,” she said. “Diego’s taking a big—and dangerous—step, trying to form his own new cartel. La Familia isn’t going to take that lying down. He won’t take chances with anything. I don’t think he’ll trust anyone else to handle this. I think he’ll be here.”

“Maybe, maybe not.” Matt didn’t sound too concerned.

With Talia safely closed up in the house, they sat outside on the porch and watched the sun slowly make its way overhead.

Again she checked her watch. “Not too long now,” she said.

“Look.” Matt pointed. Two helicopters, neither one military-issue, appeared over the horizon. As they drew closer, they split apart. One went east, toward the caves, and the other headed directly toward them.

“Are those your people?” Matt asked.

“I...I don’t know.” She stared, momentarily shocked into silence. “I hadn’t expected this,” she said. “Though those aren’t military helicopters, I suppose it could be the ATF.”

“Or Diego’s people. Or even La Familia.” Standing, Matt moved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “Rule number two—expect the unexpected.”

Since he didn’t appear too concerned, she forced herself to try to relax.

“Are you ready?” Matt asked, shouldering his rifle and shooting her a quick look.

Heart in her throat, she checked her own weapon and nodded.

He placed a hard kiss on her lips. “Then let’s go. We’ll stay hidden until we find out who exactly is inside this chopper.”

“Agreed.”

Hurrying across the lawn, they took refuge behind a large stack of baled hay. From there, they still had a good view of the chopper, but had enough cover to be able to avoid any shots that might be fired at them.

As the helicopter drew closer, Matt’s cell phone rang. Answering, he shot her a quick look while he listened. After a few seconds, he hung up without saying another word. “That was Diego. He claims to be in the helicopter heading toward us.”

Shading her eyes with her hand, she nodded. “What about the other one? Who’s in that?”

“I didn’t ask,” he said. “I’m guessing they’re heading over to try to steal the ammunition. Good luck to them. My first concern is José.”

Impressed, despite herself, she gave him a thumbs-up.

They both watched silently as the chopper drew closer.

“There.” Matt pointed. “In the passenger seat, waving. That looks like... It’s José.”

“Waving?” Narrowing her gaze, she eyed Matt. “What the hell?” José waving could mean only one thing. He wasn’t Diego Rodriguez’s captive. This was a setup, meant to set the ATF and Diego at each other so La Familia could get away with the ammo, and José was in on the whole thing.

Matt’s scowl told her he was thinking the exact same thing.

“What do you want to do?” she asked urgently. “The chopper’s going to be here any second.”

He didn’t even hesitate. “Nothing’s changed. Everything is a go—just like we planned.”

Heart pounding, she stepped from their hiding place into the open, hugging the side of the hay. Though she wanted to be seen by the chopper, she made sure she had access to ready cover in case she needed to jump back out of their line of fire.

The pasture where Diego’s men had chosen to land bordered the parking lot. It was flat and relatively treeless, a good place for a large helicopter to set down.

Skylar waited, motionless, as the chopper grew closer. She’d have preferred to be right there when they opened the doors, close enough for the wind from the blades to ruffle her hair, but she and Matt had decided she’d hang back. At least until they saw what exactly Diego had planned.

When the helicopter had completely set down, the pilot kept the blades spinning; she figured he did so to enable him to make a relatively quick getaway if he had to.

Tense, she felt horribly exposed as she waited for someone to get out. If José truly were a captive, no doubt he would be flanked by two or three guards. Like Matt had speculated, none of them were likely to be Diego.

On the other hand, if José was part of this, she was a dead woman. Her fingers tightened on her pistol.

Seconds dragged into minutes. The helicopter continued to vibrate, still in place, but no one exited.

What the...

A prickling on the back of her neck warned her. Acting purely on instinct, she sprinted backward toward the stack of hay she’d chosen as cover. She’d barely taken a dive behind it when gunfire erupted from the chopper.

“Hell.” Peering around a large bale, she returned fire, taking grim satisfaction as she watched one of the men—not José—fall out of the chopper’s open door.

“Are you all right?” Matt had moved up beside her.

“Yes.” She shot him a furious look. “How sure are you that José was the one waving earlier?”

His frown deepened. “Pretty sure.

“Not a hundred percent. We still don’t know if he’s a captive or part of this.”

She swore again. “True. Hell we don’t even know if he’s even in that chopper.”

“Either way, it’s a setup. Just a distraction.”

As if confirming his words, the helicopter slowly began to rise. As it did, someone inside sprayed the ground with bullets.

“If they get directly above us, we’re sitting targets,” Skylar warned. “We’ve got to take cover.”

“The truck’s too far away.” Matt grabbed the side of a bale of hay. “Help me. We can make enough of a makeshift shelter to block us from them.”

Quickly they swung hay into place, crawling underneath once they had enough room. Skylar braced herself, hoping Matt was right and the thickness of the hay bales would protect them. She tried to remember if she’d ever seen any studies or watched any videos of what happened when a bullet—or in this case multiple bullets—was shot into hay bales.

But instead of hovering over them, the chopper took off, flying due east, moving fast.

“They’re joining the other one,” Matt said, helping her out from under the hay.

“Let me have your cell phone,” she ordered. As he dug it out from his pocket, she snatched it out of his hand and hit the redial button for the last call received.

She didn’t recognize the voice that answered, but truly didn’t care. “What the hell was that?” she spat. “I was willing to trade myself for José Nivas. Where is he? What have you done with him?”

Mocking laughter greeted her. “Ah, the federal agent. You’re muy estúpido—much more stupid than I thought.”

Keeping a leash on her temper, she snarled, “What have you done with him?”

“The better question,” the man, who must have been Diego Rodriguez, said silkily, “is what we’re going to do with all that free ammunition.”

“Is this Diego Rodriguez or someone from La Familia?” she said, equally smooth.

Silence while he digested her words.

“What do you mean by that?” he asked carefully. She thought she could finally detect a note of fear in his voice.

“I guess you’ll have to find out, now, won’t you?” she said and ended the call.

“Well?” Matt demanded as she handed him back his phone.

“I still don’t know anything. Other than scaring the crap out of Diego—if that was him—all he said was he was planning to nab the ammo.”

“It’s not that easy,” Matt told her. “I’ve got reinforced-steel doors with a combination, just like a bank vault. They’ll have to use explosives to get in there. And if La Familia shows up...”

“Not to mention the ATF. How long will it take us to get over there?” she asked, eyeing his pickup and wondering why he seemed to feel no sense of urgency.

“Depends. If we stick to the roads and go in by the old farm-to-market road, maybe four or five minutes tops. Longer if we drive on the ranch.”

“Well, come on.” She grabbed his arm. “Let’s go check on your ammunition.”

Instead of moving, he shook off her hand. “No. I don’t care about that anymore. Your ATF people can take care of Diego and the cartel.”

“But...” She stared at him. “I thought... Don’t you care about—”

“I care about José,” he told her bluntly, his expression bleak. “I just want him back safe. I’m done with all the rest—the cartel, Diego, revenge.”

“You are? Why?”

Instead of answering, he shook his head. “Now is not the time. Plus, I guess I shouldn’t have said I was done with the cartel. They’ve changed all that by taking José. Now I’ve got to get my best friend back.”

She said the first thing that came to mind. “You don’t think there’s a chance he’s in the other chopper? Maybe they brought him to pinpoint the exact location of the cave?”

He cursed. “I didn’t think of that. Come on. Let’s go.”

They ran to his truck and hopped in. Matt pulled out, tires screeching, driving fast.

“Hold on,” he told her, the set of his jaw grim. “The roads are gravel and bumpy. Make sure you have your seat belt on.”

She did—old habit—so she simply nodded.

They rocketed down the road, skidding on dirt and gravel, hitting ruts so hard they bounced, only their seat belts kept them from hitting the roof.

“How far now?” she asked, gritting her teeth to keep them from knocking into each other.

“Once we hit the farm-to-market road, it’s about three miles.”

As they crested a hill, she saw the choppers parked side by side in a field. Several government-issue vehicles were parked ahead, blocking the road.

“Looks like the ATF has arrived,” she said.

“They’re real fond of black, aren’t they?” Matt asked wryly.

“Yes, they are,” she answered, wishing like hell she could see what was going on inside the perimeter. “It doesn’t look as if they’ve secured the helicopters yet.”

“I don’t know. The blades aren’t moving.”

“Good point.” When they reached the first Suburban, which had been parked sideways across the road, two heavily armed agents rushed out to block their way.

Matt parked. Skylar flashed her ID. “This is the landowner,” she said, indicating Matt. “Let us pass.”

With the window open, she could clearly hear the sharp report of gunfire.

“We can’t,” the agent said. “A bunch of heavily armed Mexicans are shooting at each other. There’s been a gun battle going on there. Our team got caught in the cross fire. We’ve radioed for medics. As best I can understand, we have two down.”

“Out of how many?” she barked. “How many men did we send in there?”

He gave her a startled look before answering. “Twenty-four. Two teams of twelve. INS officers are en route, and the Texas Rangers are sending men, too. We’ve got the situation under control. Now please stand back.”

Moving back to the pickup, Skylar and Matt did as he asked.

“What now?” Skylar asked.

“There’s a back way in,” Matt told her. “Get in the truck. We’ll drive until we’re out of sight and then we’ll park and go in on foot.”

“And then what?”

He made a sound of frustration. “I don’t know. I’m guessing we’ll look for José and see if we can rescue him.”

“While I’m all for action,” Skylar told him, “since we have no way to make the ATF teams aware of our position, between them and the Mexicans, not to mention the INS guys and the frickin’ Texas Rangers, there’s an overwhelming likelihood we’ll get shot.”

He nodded, his expression fierce. “I understand. You can stay here if you want. But if there’s any way I can get José out, I’m going to take it.”

Well, damn and double damn. Since hell would freeze over before she’d let Matt go in there on his own, she knew she had no choice. “Fine. I’m in.”

They drove down the winding road until they could no longer see the ATF vehicles. Matt pulled over and killed the engine.

“Listen, Skylar,” he began. “This isn’t your battle. You don’t have to do this.”

Leaning over, she planted a hard and fast kiss on his mouth. “Enough of that nonsense. We’re a team, remember? Come on. Let’s go.”

Out of the pickup, they could hear the sounds of the gunfire much more clearly. With a sinking heart, Skylar knew that if La Familia had their way, no one would be leaving there alive.

And the worst part of it was they still didn’t know what José’s true role was in all of this. For his sake, she hoped he hadn’t chosen the wrong side.

Rifle slung over his shoulder, Matt strode off, looking like a dangerous mercenary from an action flick.

Hurrying after him, she nearly jumped out of her skin when her cell phone rang.

“Wait,” she called to Matt. “It’s my boss.”

Answering, she barely got out her last name.

“Where are you?” David barked. “Tell me you’re not on-site, disobeying orders.”

“Um.” Done with skirting the edges of the truth, she grimaced. “Not yet. But we will be there soon.”

“Hold back,” he ordered. “We’ve secured the scene. We have Diego Rodriguez, José Nivas and various Mexican nationals in custody.”

Listening, she realized the gunfire had stopped. She repeated David’s words out loud so that Matt could hear.

“How many dead?” she asked.

“Two of our men were wounded. I don’t have a body count for the others yet.”

Again she repeated what she’d heard.

“Who are you talking to?” David demanded to know.

“Matt Landeta. He and I were going in the back way to try to rescue José Nivas.”

“I’m not sure he needs rescuing.” David’s hard tone told her what he thought of men who betrayed their friends. While she could sympathize, she refused to pass judgment until she heard José’s side of the story.

“What about the ammunition?” she asked dazedly, amazed at the speed with which everything had been settled.

“That’s why I’m calling you.” David sounded grim. “We just blasted into the caves. We need to have a word with Mr. Landeta.”

“Why?”

“Because there’s no ammunition in there. The damn place is empty.”