Last Stand In Texas

She could probably sneak up on 99 percent of the clientele, too. According to Carder legend, Mrs. Hargraves had been the librarian since the 1960s. Dressed in jeans, Ropers and a flannel shirt, she sure didn’t dress or act like any librarian he’d known, but the woman knew her books.

Over the last couple years, he’d let her pick out one book for him whenever he visited. She rarely went wrong. His favorite to date was Inherit the Stars by James P. Hogan.

“I’ve been saving this for you,” she said, handing him The Prince by Machiavelli.

He nearly choked. He jerked his chin to meet her gaze. Did she know? Or did she think he needed lessons in being authoritative? Either one made the back of his neck itch.

“Thanks.” He took the book, forcing a smile.

“I can see there’s something wrong.” She frowned at him. “Are you okay after your...trip? Not like that last one, I hope.”

Okay, so she was observant, too.

“Or...” She paused for a moment and glanced behind her. “Is it my new assistant you’re interested in?”

A small sense of relief loosened his neck muscles. So his favorite octogenarian had matchmaking on her mind.

He returned the book to the shelf. “You caught me. I may have noticed both of your new helpers.”

Mrs. Hargraves rocked back on the heels of her boots. “The last one quit and Faith needed a job. I liked the look of her. Been here a couple of months. She’s always on time, she’s no trouble, and that girl of hers is a pistol. Reminds me of myself when I was a youngster.”

Faith. Her name suited her.

“You’re collecting strays.”

“Maybe.” She crooked her finger at him, and he bent closer. “Faith’s in big trouble. Skittish as a newborn colt. I don’t know what kind of problem, but I get the feeling whatever she’s running from is about to come to a head. You could help her.” She narrowed her gaze. “I have a strong suspicion of what you folks do out at that ranch.”

He didn’t respond. “Thanks for everything.” He kissed her cheek and started to walk away.

She grabbed his shirt. “She needs you. Don’t ignore your gut.”

Muffled whispers sounded from the tables at the back of the library. Stefan sent Mrs. Hargraves a subtle nod and followed the noise. He paused just out of their sight.

“What have I told you, Zoe? We can’t draw attention to ourselves, and you promised you’d work on your reading.”

“I hate reading. I’m bored. I want to go home and play baseball with Danny. I can’t miss the next season of Little League. He’ll kill me.”

“Look, Slugger, we need to stay here just a little longer. Then...”

“You keep saying that. I want to go home with Daddy. I know he doesn’t like you, but he likes me. He wouldn’t make me sit hours and hours and hours reading stupid books all the time. He’d buy me stuff to play with. Cool stuff.” Zoe jerked away from her mother and plopped down at a table scattered with crayons, construction paper and children’s books.

Ouch. Faith’s daughter could strike a bull’s-eye.

Faith stared at Zoe with tortured eyes. Stefan had seen it before. The heartache. The dejection. He didn’t know exactly what was going on, but they clearly needed help.

Seeing a woman that afraid of being found didn’t sit well with him. They needed help. Help he could give. If he could convince them to trust him.

THE RAIN PELTED Carder with no signs of letting up anytime soon. A rainbow crossed the gray sky of the horizon, leading to nowhere. Faith stood in the doorway of the library and studied the expanse of dark clouds. They portended the future much more than the pink and blue and green. Rainbows were supposed to hold magic and hope. She’d lost count of the days since she’d believed in either.

Zoe still did, of course.

Faith attempted to cloak herself in optimism. Maybe their luck could change, but somehow she doubted it. From the morning she’d realized what her ex-husband had done to her car breaking down in this middle-of-nowhere town, she and Zoe hadn’t caught a break. She’d fought against the panic of being discovered every day. Sometimes she succeeded, but she’d been unsettled since the stranger had shown up at the library today. Something to do with how his gaze had pierced right through her, how he’d seemed to see too much and how Zoe couldn’t stop talking about him.

She didn’t know how long she waited before the rain finally tapered off. The library had closed an hour ago, but Faith couldn’t afford for their clothes to get wet or dirty. She didn’t have the money to go to the Laundromat twice in a week.

“Looks like it’s letting up,” Mrs. Hargraves said.

“Thanks for letting me stay.” Faith shifted on her feet. She didn’t like making small talk. It led to relationships, and relationships meant being noticed.

“I don’t mind driving you home, honey.”

“That’s okay. I have to hit the store first. I’m out of your way.”

“Nothing’s out of the way in Carder.”

Faith didn’t respond. Mrs. Hargraves had hired her off the books. It was best no one knew where she lived, not even someone as seemingly honest as her boss. Faith had to be careful. If no one knew where she lived, she could relax enough to close her eyes at night. At least for a few hours. “Pack up, Zoe. We’re going home.”

Her daughter ran up to her with a frown. “It’s not home, you know.”

Before Faith could respond, her daughter rushed to the back of the library. Heat flushed her cheeks and she glanced at Mrs. Hargraves. “Sorry.”

The librarian patted her arm. “Don’t you worry about it. She’s a good girl, just a little frustrated today. Rain’ll do that. I couldn’t ever live in Seattle or somewhere like that. I’d be in a bad mood all the time.”

“Thank you.” Faith met the older woman’s gaze. She’d saved their lives. “For everything you’ve done.”

“You’ve helped me, honey. I’m not getting any younger. Speaking of which, I’m telling you, if I had fifty years back, I’d be all over that man who took a shine to you today.” She winked. “You know who I’m talking about.”

Faith didn’t pretend not to know. “He barely said a word to me.”

“He was watching you all right.”

“Watching me?” A chill froze Faith. “Why?”

“The fact that you’re a very attractive woman might be the reason.” Mrs. Hargraves arched a brow in disbelief. “Come on, Faith. I saw that look you gave him. Besides, Zoe certainly liked our Léon.”

Léon. So her boss knew him. Faith relaxed a bit. Burke had no connection with Carder, so he wouldn’t know Léon, either. She was being paranoid. Again. “I couldn’t place his accent.”

“If you find out, let me know. Every woman in town from seven to seventy would like the answer.” Her boss chuckled. “That boy is easy on the eyes...and the ears.”

Faith couldn’t deny he was attractive. Tall, with a rugged square jaw, that sexy, unshaven look and piercing blue eyes. He could be the hero in a fairy tale, his dark hair highlighted with sun-kissed blond streaks. Except this stranger had a sad, lonely darkness in him, and that kind of need pegged him as a troublesome cloud, not a rainbow.

What struck her as odd, though, was how he’d taken Zoe’s playacting as a librarian seriously. The girl had fallen in love with him after two minutes. Faith didn’t blame her daughter. Faith wasn’t dead either, but since she preferred staying alive, she had to stay as invisible as possible.

Besides, he seemed too good to be true, and she knew better than to believe all those trimmings. She hadn’t seen the danger in Burke, and look what had happened. “If you say so.”

“Of course I do, and so do you.” Mrs. Hargraves took Faith’s hand. “Look, I’ll let you in on a secret. If you need help sometime, Léon is a man who knows what to do.”

Faith bit her lip.

“Don’t ask me for details. I don’t have all the answers. I just know if I were in trouble, Carder is where I’d want to be. We take care of our own.”

Chewing on that interesting tidbit, Faith grabbed the large tote that doubled as her purse and waited. Zoe took her time but eventually dragged her feet through the front door.

Faith took her daughter’s hand.

“Be safe, honey,” her boss called out.

Faith waved to the librarian and the woman locked the door behind them. Zoe skipped along, jumping in a large puddle. Water splashed up her jeans.

“Stop it. You’re getting your clothes dirty.”

Zoe stilled and turned to her mother. “That’s what Dad always says.”

Faith’s heart ripped in two. She knelt down in front of Zoe. “I’m sorry, Slugger. It’s just... I’m trying to find us a new home, a place where we can be happy. I need money to do that and it’s expensive to wash our clothes. When we get our own place, you can dirty up those jeans all you want. In fact, I’ll roll in the mud with you.”

Zoe didn’t meet her gaze for a few moments and then peeked up. “You promise to roll in the mud with me?”

“Pinky swear.” Faith held out her hand. Zoe grinned and linked little fingers.

“I won’t jump anymore, then.”

“Thanks, Slugger.”

Luckily, the family grocery store, which also served as the feed store and gas station, was only a half mile down the road. She and Zoe ducked in and grabbed one of the five carts sitting just inside the door.

Faith pulled out her small calculator. She picked up a loaf of bread, on sale, thankfully, and looked over at the peanut butter. Full price. They could probably make do another week with what they had if she kept the coating thin. Maybe it would be on sale next week.

“Can we get some chips?” Zoe asked.

Faith bit her lip. She shouldn’t. “Maybe a small one. We’ll have to wait and see.”

Zoe gave her a huge grin, and the sight caused Faith’s heart to sink. Her little girl shouldn’t be so excited to buy a small package of chips. She loved Zoe’s enthusiasm, but her reaction made Faith feel like a failure as a mother.

Every day she asked herself if she’d made the right decision, and every night she recognized she’d had no choice but to leave. Not once she’d realized what Burke was. She couldn’t risk losing custody to a serial killer.

She tapped the cost of the small bag of chips into the calculator and scanned her list. Was there anything she could take off?

A scuff sounded behind her. Faith straightened and turned around. No one there. She clutched her purse tighter, hoping to push down the foreboding that laced her every thought. She picked up a bag of beans on sale and placed them in the cart, then paused.

Another rustle fluttered at her back.

A prickle skittered down her spine. Zoe examined a box of cereal, making an enthusiastic attempt to whistle the jingle. Faith glanced behind to her left, then her right. The store was small, a quarter size of the grocery store she’d frequented at home. She should have a visual on everybody.

Gripping the cart’s handle with white-knuckled fists, she prodded Zoe along and hurriedly maneuvered through the last two aisles, placing the final four items into the cart. Maybe the weather had impacted her more than she thought. Maybe the fact that she hadn’t heard any updates from her fake ID supplier in weeks had rattled her. Or maybe it was the man Mrs. Hargraves had told her she could trust. Léon. He’d come out of nowhere. He’d shown too much interest in her and Zoe. What if he did work for Burke?

She had to trust her gut. “Come on, Zoe. We need to leave.” Faith couldn’t hide the urgency from her voice.

Zoe frowned at her mother. “What’s wrong, Mom?”

“Nothing. It’s getting late.” She headed toward the checkout.

“It’s still light outside,” her daughter protested, hurrying beside her.

“It won’t be for long and we have to walk home.”

Zoe shifted her knapsack, heavy with all her treasures stored inside.

The checker smiled at them. “How’s it going, Faith?”

“Fine. And you, Maureen?”

The woman grinned, her face open and joyful, something Faith envied. “Can’t complain. My boy just graduated. He’s headed for boot camp.”

“Congratulations. I’m sure you’ll miss him.”

“Yep. They grow up fast. Enjoy this one while you can.” Maureen nodded at Zoe.

“I will.” Faith scooped up the two bags and glanced over her shoulder yet again. She couldn’t shake the being-watched feeling.

She had truly become paranoid. She wasn’t made for being on the run. She wanted a normal life back. She just prayed that would happen once she could afford to leave Carder.

The sun hung low in the sky when she and Zoe walked out of the store. They had a two-mile trek to the shack she’d rented.

She started out slow. Not many walked in this town. She didn’t even see a bicycle. Carder, Texas, was ranch country. Pickups ruled the streets.

The sheriff’s office loomed in front of her. She crossed away from it, telling herself that she was simply making her way to her side of the street. It had nothing to do with the fact that Burke and his family’s political allies could very well have convinced someone to put out a warrant for her arrest. She just prayed dyeing her hair brown would fool everyone long enough for her to disappear.

Whatever Burke was thinking or doing, it hadn’t made headlines in the San Antonio Express-News. Much less the Carder weekly paper.

That strange unease settled between her shoulder blades. Faith didn’t believe in ESP, but if she did, her spidey sense was going crazy. She picked up the pace.

“Mom, you’re going too fast. I’m tired.”

Faith slowed and turned around. Her daughter had taken to dragging the pack behind her. “Hand me the knapsack, Slugger.”

Zoe held it out with both hands.

Faith took it and nearly dropped the bag. She hadn’t expected it to be so heavy. “What have you got in here?”

“The books you made me bring. Plus my baseball, my favorite games, chalk and my shiny stones for hopscotch.” Zoe shrugged. “So I wouldn’t have to read the whole time.”

An incessant pounding pulsed behind Faith’s eyes, but she shoved aside the pain. “I don’t want to get caught in the rain, Zoe. Let’s hurry. I bet you can’t beat me home.” She fought to form the smallest smile.

Her daughter took off, and Faith jogged behind her.

“Stop before crossing the street,” Faith shouted.

Zoe glanced back and grinned. “You won’t catch me!”

Even so, her daughter slowed down a bit. When they settled in a new place, she’d make sure she enrolled Zoe in softball or baseball or maybe even soccer. Her daughter needed a way to work off all that energy.

By the time they reached the two-room shack she called home, Faith panted and bent over to catch her breath.

Zoe waited outside the door, shifting from one foot to another.

Faith slipped her hand into her pocket and dug out the key. She pushed it into the lock and opened the door.

Zoe rushed in, whirled around and raced back at her mother, plowing into her. The shopping bags flew out of Faith’s hands. Zoe’s knapsack dropped like a stone.

“What—”

Zoe’s face made Faith’s heart drop. “Mom, someone’s been here.”

Faith pushed her daughter behind her and peered inside the open door.

The sofa had been overturned; bookcases toppled. The few items they had left were spread on the floor.

Their place had been ransacked.

“Zoe, we need to leave. Now!”

THOMAS, INCORPORATED OCCUPIED the top three floors of the downtown Dallas office building. Oil made the fortune, but Burke’s father had diversified. They were now in distribution, energy storage and financial institutions. If you lived or worked in Texas, you dealt with one of Thomas, Inc.’s companies or subsidiaries. The business would be his someday, and Burke had big plans for the future.

For now, the company’s reach equated influence, and influence translated into power. It also meant when his father called, Burke had no choice but to appear. He inserted his executive key into the elevator panel and pressed the button to the penthouse. The elevator zoomed upward.

A finely tuned bell chimed and the doors opened. Burke exited and crossed the thick carpet, ignoring the latest administrative assistant. Bracing himself, he knocked on his father’s office door.

“Enter.”

Burke took a cleansing breath and stepped inside.

His father raised his head and frowned. “Shut the door.”

The older Thomas didn’t smile. This wasn’t going to be fun, and Burke had a feeling he knew the subject of the latest lecture. He closed the door quietly, as was expected, and strode across the room. “You wanted to see me?”

“Are you over the latest incident? Have you regained control of your urges?”

“Yes, sir.” He met his father’s gaze. “You know, it wouldn’t hurt if you’d help me out a little with this Faith situation.”

Gerard Thomas shot to his feet. “How dare you speak to me that way. Help you? I’ve saved you from going to prison more times than you’ll ever know. It’s only been two weeks since the previous problem occurred. Two weeks. Have you no discipline?”

Burke ground his nails into one palm. “I keep getting calls from investigators and lawyers. It’s...frustrating. I need to relieve my...stress.”

“Then go for a run. Lift some weights, but don’t...” His father scowled and slugged a shot of whiskey. “Your mother wants to see Zoe. I’m running out of excuses.”

“I’ll visit Mom, make up something.” Burke shrugged with indifference.

“You think this is a game?” His father slammed the glass onto his desk. “You’re too impatient. You have no self-discipline. You should have waited until we nailed down the case against Faith before serving the proposed custody agreement.”

“You’re the one who told Mother we were ready.” Burke lifted his chin. “How could I predict she’d run?”

“How many times have I told you to run any decision that affects this family by me first?” His father rubbed his eyes. “Faith might not be fit to raise my granddaughter, but neither are you. I needed an airtight case of neglect to ensure you get custody.”

“Well, she’s taken Zoe without my permission. That’s a plus.”

“If we find her.”

“I can fix this,” Burke said under his breath. “If you give me the leeway, when I find her—”

His father slammed his hand on the desk. “Do not even think about harming Faith.”

Burke’s lips pursed.

“The cost of cleaning up your messes just doubled. If my team hadn’t gone in behind you, you would’ve been caught. Your DNA was there, Burke. You’re getting sloppy.

“If you do something to your ex-wife, I won’t be able to protect you, or our family name. My sway only goes so far.” His father took a seat, steepled his fingers and stared over the tips at Burke. “Get control of yourself and get back to work.”

The stinging words pierced Burke’s skin with the force of icy knives, but he said nothing. He simply nodded and crossed the hall to his own office.

Once inside, he slammed his fist into the wall. How had his father found out about his latest indiscretion so fast?

His head pounded in a rhythmic crashing against his skull. He placed the heel of his hand against his temple. This was all Faith’s fault. She was the one who’d taken Zoe, and because of it, his mother was a basket case. His father...

He didn’t give a damn about Gerard Thomas or how he felt.

Burke rubbed his face. Faith had been gone three months. She wasn’t smart enough to disappear completely. She would make a mistake. And then he’d have her. No matter what his father said.

He sagged into the leather chair behind his desk and tossed his phone onto the perfectly polished mahogany. He unlocked the top drawer and pulled out a folder containing his plans for the future. When he ran Thomas, Incorporated.

He flipped through the pages. Burke would expand the company’s power nationally, and then internationally. There would be no limits.

His cell vibrated to life.

He glanced at the caller. Orren better have some good news. “Report.”

“Mr. Thomas. We found her.”

Chapter Two

Stefan’s SUV bounced over the West Texas badlands, putting his back-road driving skills to the test. He glanced at his GPS. He should be there soon. A strip of vivid purple and orange winked at him from the western horizon, the only color except for a few blooming cacti. The harsh landscape didn’t mince words; dramatic, beautiful in its own way, but nothing like his home country of Bellevaux, strewn with lakes and rivers, lush rolling green hills and vineyards.

His vehicle kicked up dust from the parched earth. He’d been traveling a cattle trail for a half hour, and he just hoped he’d picked the right path. He’d never rendezvoused with Annie in the same place twice. The woman put his own paranoia to shame.

On the other hand, she survived when by all rights she should be dead.

They both lived in the world of gray shadows, where light and dark, truth and lies, right and wrong fused into a strange, inseparable muddle.

The vehicle rose in elevation just enough to see another mile or so into the distance when he made out the top of a nondescript tow camper.

Right where she said she’d be.

He pulled his SUV about fifty feet from her makeshift home and exited, hands raised, leaving his SIG Sauer in the vehicle. Annie had her rules about guns, after all.

She didn’t show herself, but he knew she could see him. Probably had her sight trained on him right now.

“Annie?” he called out.

She didn’t answer, so he waited.

And waited.

A figure finally rose from the protection of a group of saltbushes. Annie cradled an Uzi, her favorite weapon, and strode toward him. She’d piled her loose curly hair on top of her head, not the dark brown he recalled from their first meeting or the auburn from their last appointment. No, this visit, golden brown kissed with blond framed her face, highlighting an unexpected softness to her appearance. Maybe her natural color. He couldn’t be certain, but it suited her.

She wore her usual black jeans and a too-large black T-shirt. By the time the sun set she’d be practically invisible.

Her smile widened when she reached him, a smile that revealed the hidden beauty she made an effort to conceal. He’d never understood why.

“Léon, you look good for a dead man.”

“And you look too beautiful to be dead.”

He bent down and kissed her cheek gently. They’d been friends for about five years now. She knew him as well as anybody, but even she didn’t know his true identity. When CTC had smuggled him into the United States to save his life, they had provided her the information for his Léon Royce persona, but the company had never revealed his real name.

“How’ve you been, Annie?”

A shadowed expression he recognized all too well crossed her face. “Not bad. And you?”

Just the sort of conversation friends with benefits had when they kept each other at arm’s length. Two people with major trust issues and on the run didn’t make for a good long-term relationship. They’d recognized the reality early on, so they performed the identical dance each time they met.

“You planning on coming out of hiding anytime soon?” He always asked.

“Probably not. I just got my hair done for the apocalypse,” she said with a sad smile. “You and I made our choices years ago. This is my life now—helping troublemakers like you and innocent people who have nowhere else to turn.”

Faith and her daughter flashed into his mind. He shoved them aside. He really shouldn’t care.

Except he did.

“So, business has been good?”

“Better than ever.” She sighed. “Power corrupts everything. Law enforcement and government included. Sometimes disappearing is the only answer.”

“Truer words.”

“So why the smoke signal?” she asked. “Ransom usually contacts me for a job.”