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“Rose?”
She took a deep breath. “Refugio Cabrera has Bull’s sons. He’s demanding to trade them for me or he’ll kill them.”
His mouth tightened. A muscle twitched in his jaw. Several seconds passed before he spoke. “We can’t just let them take you,” he said. “We’ll need a way to fight them.”
I should never have doubted him, Rose thought. He was with her all the way. “Not until the boys are safe,” she said. “Agreed?”
“Agreed. I’ve got my .38 under the seat. I could go in after them once the boys are out.”
Suddenly she was afraid for him. “Cabrera and his men will be armed to the teeth. It’s too dangerous.”
“Blast it, Rose, I’d rather die with you than have to live without you.”
She pressed her head against his shoulder. “I think that’s the most beautiful thing anyone’s ever said to me. We’ll talk to Bull. He might have some ideas. But we won’t have much time.”
She was doing her best to sound brave. But Refugio Cabrera was the central figure in her nightmares, a tall, handsome monster capable of unspeakable acts. Even the thought of him triggered waves of sickening fear.
“I told you a story about how I gunned down a serial killer in a standoff by circling around the back of a cabin,” Tanner said. “I could try it again.”
“It won’t be that easy,” Rose said. “This time there’ll be three of them. But I could hide a weapon on me—a knife or a gun. I’ve been a scrapper all my life, Tanner. I don’t go down easy.”
They had turned off the highway onto the gravel lane. At the end of it, they could see the lights of the Rimrock. Bull strode outside to meet them as they pulled up to the house. Wordless, he gripped Rose’s hands hard enough to hurt.
“Let’s do this,” she said, showing him her brave face. “Let’s get your boys back.”
“I’m going with you,” Tanner said.
“You’re sure?” Bull looked at Tanner as if taking his measure. Earlier Tanner had changed his white shirt for a dark blue, long-sleeved tee. Before getting out of the pickup, he’d taken his pistol and thrust it into his belt.
“There’s no way you’re leaving me behind,” Tanner said.
“Then you’ll have to get out of the truck early,” Bull said. “Cabrera’s expecting two of us.”
“I’ll need a weapon I can hide,” Rose said. “A switchblade would do if you’ve got one.”
“There’s one in my truck,” Bull said. “Can we agree on a plan?”
“You get the boys out. I’ll get Rose out,” Tanner said. “That’s about as much plan as we can manage.”
Bull checked his watch. “We’ve got fifteen minutes. That’s about what it’ll take us to get there.”
“Where are the cops?” Tanner asked.
“None close by. The police will have roadblocks on the routes out of town, but the Cabreras will anticipate that. I guarantee they’ll have a trick or two up their sleeves.”
They climbed into the truck with Rose between the two men. Bull found the switchblade knife in the glove box. Rose’s fingers shook as she slipped it under her jeans. Would she live through the next hour? Would Tanner? She couldn’t think about that now. Nothing could be allowed to matter except the lives of two innocent children.
Bull carried guns in his truck, the 12-gauge double-barreled shotgun Rose had given him and the heavy .44 pistol he favored. But he would have to appear unarmed before the Cabreras. His only chance to use them would be to keep them within easy reach until after his sons were safe. Where he sat, touching her, Rose could feel the tension in his body, and she knew he was afraid, not for himself but for his boys.
The Gunther farm, deserted years ago when the well went dry and the owners went broke, lay at the end of a rutted road beyond the outskirts of Blanco Springs. The house had been burned by vandals, but the barn, with its rotting timbers and dilapidated wood siding, still stood, along with what was left of the corral. The yard was overgrown with weeds.
Bull drove without headlights, the road just visible in the twilight. Ahead, through the murk, they could see the looming outline of the barn. With the dome light switched off, he slowed the truck just enough for Tanner to bail out onto the side of the road. Rose watched him vanish into the darkness, keeping low and moving from shadow to shadow.
The barn was dark, with no sign of movement. “What if they’re not here?” Rose whispered, her pulse racing.
Bull glanced at the clock on the dash. “It’s seven forty-five. They’re here.” He pulled up a dozen yards from the barn. “You stay in the truck for now.”
Leaving the keys in the ignition, he laid his guns across the seat and climbed out of the truck. The beam of a flashlight flickered on in the doorway of the barn. Rose froze as the light found her through the windshield, lingering on her face.
