Her Texas Ranger Hero (Lone Star Lawmen 4)

Luckey turned to her father. “Let me know how you would like to handle giving the news to the Tan family. We’ll go from there and make arrangements for Yu Tan’s body to be shipped back home.”

Larry walked over to shake his hand. “You’ve closed down that spa, freed Shan from a life of horror and now you’re about to give a daughter back to her family. There’s no way to repay you for what you’ve done. If there’s anything our family can do for you...” His voice shook.

“It’s my job, Larry, and couldn’t possibly compare to the one you did for our country over the last fifteen years. But as my boss would tell me, my job’s not done. I’ve still got to find the leader of that trafficking ring and am getting closer, thanks to Ally. She was the one who could read the secret message on Yu Tan’s dress that gave us the clues we needed. But your daughter’s brilliance couldn’t be news to you.”

“Luckey...” Ally whispered.

“We are now looking for Robert D. Martin, a tall, dark blond Caucasian gymnast operating under many aliases, known to dye his hair black and red. He has both an American and Chinese passport and speaks Xiang and Mandarin.

“I went to Freeport and discovered that Robert’s adoptive mother, a local expert in kung fu, raised Robert, her sister’s son, and married a Chinese sports facilitator from Beijing. Both of them have disappeared off the radar. I went to the vital statistics bureau and found a birth certificate for a baby boy, Robert, the son of Sybil Martin and Andrew Mott. Both are now deceased.

“Momo Demott is one of Robert’s aliases. Sid Marteen is a close fit for Sybil. I looked up any Martins, Marteens, Motts or Demotts who’d lived in Freeport, but nothing that could be linked to Robert Martin turned up. No matter, I only have a few more addresses to check in one section of Austin. I won’t stop until I’ve found him and sent him to prison for the rest of his life. As soon as I can prove this cream was delivered to him, we’ll have positive proof that Robert kidnapped Yu Tan, Shan and an Indonesian girl who was freed from the spa. Who knows how many hundreds more throughout China.”

He heard gasps from the three of them.

“All his victims are young gymnasts. He disappeared after robbing a security company in Las Vegas of eight million dollars. He killed the guards with an injection of DMSO. He himself uses the DMSO cream himself for joint pain, which was found on the sleeve of Yu Tan’s cheongsam. Robert Martin is dangerous and still on the loose, but we’re going to catch him. I believe he’s operating in Houston or Austin when he’s here in the country.

“Please forgive me, but I need to get back to work, so we’ll talk again later.” He reached for the sample lying on the coffee table and strode from the room without looking at Ally. He couldn’t. It hurt too much.

Chapter Ten

Ally watched Luckey disappear, taking her heart with him.

“There goes an exceptional man,” her father murmured. His remark brought her head around. “Why don’t you tell your mom and me what’s going on? We don’t know you like this.”

She couldn’t hold it in any longer. “A few days ago Luckey asked me to marry him, but he knew it was too soon and I needed time to think about it. The next morning I heard the news that Ranger Landrey had died in a shoot-out. It’s all I’ve been able to think about, to the point that it has torn me apart.”

“In other words, you didn’t give Luckey an answer.”

“No.”

Her father eyed her kindly. “Ally? I’m going to tell you something I haven’t even told your mother, because it sounds cold and final. You two are my angels and I would never want to hurt you, but this has to be said because it’s a bald fact.”

She and her mom shared a glance.

“We’re all going to die, honey.”

Ally was listening. “I know.”

“You don’t think I haven’t worried that your mother might go before me? The fear of losing a loved one plagues every human being born on this earth. A few people allow that fear to prevent them from reaching out for happiness.”

“Luckey’s ex-wife divorced him rather than end up a widow.”

“And look what she missed.” Beatrice smiled.

Her husband nodded. “Frankly, I was afraid your mother wouldn’t accept my proposal because she knew I had another interest besides ranching, one that had the potential to be dangerous. It took a strong woman to take me on.”

Beatrice kissed his jaw. “It took a woman in love. After thinking about it, I decided to go wherever you went for as long as I could have you, even if it turned out to be for a short time. I didn’t want to miss the experience.”

They were so right. Ally was in awe of her parents’ wisdom.

“Honey, we’re not going to worry if you turn Luckey down. Another man will come along who will have a safer occupation and you’ll—”

“No, Dad,” she blurted. “You’ve made your point. No one’s safe.”

A look of satisfaction broke out on his face. “It’s a hard lesson to digest, but a necessary one to help you make the right choice for you.”

“Truthfully, after Luckey and I ran into each other at my office, my heart already knew what it wanted. I’ve got to go and tell him.”