Texas Free (The Tylers of Texas 5)

It was early yet. She’d been expecting Tanner, but sometimes he didn’t show up until nine or ten. And she understood that due to the demands of his job, he might not come at all. When he did come, it was always in his truck. There was no truck tonight.

The darkness was silent except for the babbling flow of the creek and the fussing of the chickens. There was no visible sign of danger. But Rose could feel the familiar prickling on the back of her neck that told her something wasn’t right.

Her gaze probed the deep shadows on the far side of the creek. There was no movement. No sound, not even the wind.

She walked over to the coop. Behind the wire mesh, the chickens were restless and alert. “What is it?” she whispered to them. “What are you trying to tell me? I know you’re worried, but don’t be scared. I’ll protect you.”

“Rosa.”

Her whispered Mexican name sent a chill up her spine. Had the cartel tracked her down?

“Rosa. No tengas miedo. Estamos aquí.”

She turned as two men stepped out of the trees. They were strangers—but only for an instant. Recognizing them, Rose lowered her gun and ran to embrace the pair who’d been like her older brothers back in Río Seco.

She hadn’t seen Ramón’s nephews, Raul and Joaquin, for more than three years. She’d long since begun to believe they were dead. But here they were, and she had a world of questions to ask them.

“Where have you been? How did you find me?” She spoke with them in Spanish, which came as naturally to her as her mother tongue.

“That’s a very long story.” Joaquin was the better looking and more talkative of the brothers. “Invite us into your little home, and we will tell it to you.”

Overjoyed to see them again, Rose led the two men inside her trailer, opened the last two bottles of Tecate in her miniature fridge, and made them tuna sandwiches, which they wolfed down, telling her their story between bites.

“Last winter, we were working on that big sheep ranch outside Sabinas when the Cabreras came by,” Raul said.

“The cartel?” Even the name sent a chill through Rose’s body.

“They were looking for runners who knew the border and how to cross. They promised good money and that our family would be safe if we went to work for them.”

Rose suppressed a shudder. She didn’t like what she was hearing. But these two men were all that was left of the Mexican family she’d loved. And surely they hadn’t

known what they were getting into. How could she presume to judge them?

“Your family was already dead,” she said. “When the Cabreras came to Río Seco, they shot the people who stood up to them. Ramón and María died against a wall, along with many of the young men. Only the younger women were spared. I don’t have to tell you why.”

“We know, little sister.” Raul put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “When we learned the awful truth, we decided to leave the country. But you don’t just walk away from the Cabrera cartel.”

“It took time and planning,” Joaquin said. “But we finally did it—crossed the river on foot and caught rides all the way here. Señor Bull Tyler helped us years ago, after our father died. We are hoping he will have work for us again.”

“I can’t speak for Bull,” Rose said. “He’s a good man, but the laws are stricter now. I can take you to see him, but you’ll have to ask him yourselves.”

Did they know that she’d killed Lucho Cabrera and that the cartel was after her? For now, she might be wise to keep that information to herself.

“I understand how you knew where to find Bull,” she said. “But how did you know where to find me?”

Joaquin smiled, showing his beautiful white teeth. “The neighbors in Río Seco told us you’d left and taken our father’s old car. Since it was Bull Tyler who brought you to our family, we guessed that you would go back to him.”

“When we didn’t see the car on the Rimrock, we asked around,” Raul said. “Other Mexican workers on the ranches, some of them had seen you. Word spreads. They told us where you lived.”

So it had been that easy. If Raul and Joaquin had been able to track her down, how difficult would it be for the cartel?

Refugio Cabrera wouldn’t have known anything about Bull or where he lived, Rose reminded herself. All the same, she felt cold with fear.

It came as a relief when bright headlights shining through the window of her trailer announced Tanner’s arrival. “My friend is here,” she said, and rushed outside.

As he doused the headlights and climbed out of his truck, she flew into his arms. “Hold me,” she whispered.

He clasped her fiercely. “Thank God,” he muttered. “When I heard somebody was here . . .” He let the words trail off. Thrusting her a little away from him, he looked into her eyes. “Are you all right? I was worried about you.”