Her Cowboy Protector (22 page)

She caught Niall glancing in the rearview mirror again. He'd been punchy all afternoon. "Are we being followed?"

He shook his head. "Not since that SUV that blew by us half an hour ago."

"So why do you keep looking back there?"

Niall shrugged. "Call it a hunch."

"Like your hunch that the man in the convenience store in Big Lake was giving me the evil eye?" She smiled and picked up her water bottle. Niall had been certain that slightly tubby Bubba in a trucker's hat was watching her too closely.

"Laugh all you want, Cruz, but that man wasn't right. Something was…off."

"If you say so." She took a long drink. "Do you think we'll hear from Carlos tonight? I really miss him."

"I know you do." Niall reached over and stroked her leg. "I'm pretty sure he'll give us a call." He cast a warning glance her way. "He's not going to be happy about this ranch situation. You let me break that news to him, okay? I'll take that one on the chin."

She had no doubt he would. "I want him out of there, Niall. That agency is a viper's nest. Bunch of backstabbing, lying, thieving bastards." She growled angrily. "They totally lied to my face, Niall. Not a damn one of them looked me in the eye the entire time I was there writing out statements and signing forms."

"They work for the government, Cruz. What did you expect?"

He had a point.

"It just makes me sick, Niall. Do you have any idea what Carlos has done for that agency while he's been undercover? I'm not stupid. I know what those tattoos he’s earned mean. And for what?" She threw hands up in the air. "They're going to get him killed."

"He'll be fine. Carlos and I have gotten out of hairier situations than this. Some of the stories I could tell you about Afghanistan would curl your hair." Niall waved his hand. "Carlos can handle this."

"She's going to squeal, you know." Cruz's thoughts turned to Jolene. "Word's going to spread that she got picked up for trying to kill us. Once they pull her off Operation Scorpion Squash," she quickly made up a name for the El Alacrán trap, "someone will get to her. They'll have to lock her up at some point. She'll be vulnerable in a cell. That information about Carlos is the only bargaining chip she has."

"I have a feeling Carlos will be long gone before that's even a possibility."

He spoke with such certainty Cruz wondered what he knew that she didn’t. "Did Carlos tell you something this morning when you talked?"

"Nothing concrete," Niall said, "but he promised he'd contact us if he has to go into hiding. He has one last guns-for-drugs deal that has to be made and then he's free."

Cruz didn't know whether to be relieved or even more worried. "Free? Do you think that's even possible, Niall? Do you think they'll ever leave him alone?"

Niall hesitated. "No."

Cruz gulped back tears as her chest constricted. She glanced out the window. "Do you think I'll ever see my brother again?"

"I don't know," Niall confessed quietly. "I really don't." He picked up her hand and gripped it warmly. "I'm sorry, sugar. This whole mess is so ugly. I hate the way it's ripped apart your family."

"I just want it to end, Niall."

"It will, Cruz. Soon, I hope."

"I wish I could believe that, Niall."

"Why can't you?"

She inhaled a slow, deep breath. "I feel The Scorpion. I know how crazy that sounds but it's the truth. It's like this dark, oppressive presence. Makes the hair on my arms and the back of my neck stand on edge," she added.

Her gaze skipped to the endless black expanse of highway. Miles and miles of pasture land surrounded them. A half-moon cast a pale glow on the ground but not enough to provide much illumination. It reminded her of a nightmare dreamscape with its dark, sinister uncertainty. Anything could be hiding out there. Coyotes, bobcats, cartel assassins…

"He's out there, Niall, and he's coming for me."

He squeezed her hand. "Over my dead body, Cruz."

Niall's sworn oath of protection had the opposite effect he'd intended. It chilled her to the bone. A man like El Alacrán would probably see a man like Niall as some kind of worthy opponent. It would be a welcome change of pace. Niall's death would be one he'd relish.

"If something happens to me, promise me you'll take the baby and run, Niall." Cruz stared intently at his shadowy profile. "Promise me you'll do whatever it takes to keep Felix safe."

"Don't even talk like that, Cruz. You're being ridiculous."

"I'm being realistic, Niall! I need to know that if El Alacrán finds me after the baby is born, you'll take care of my son."

"Nothing is going to happen to you or the baby."

"Niall—"

"All right," he said harshly. "I promise. Now will you drop it?"

His snapping reply told her he had no intention of following her request. It was an empty promise. He'd always maintained he never broke promises but this one might be his first. "Look, Niall, I know I'm acting a little nutty about this but—"

Niall's loud and unexpected swear cut through her words. His arm slammed across her upper chest and threw her back against the seat. "Hold on, Cruz!"

Everything happened so fast. Her gaze flicked to the windshield. She barely registered a shadowy form on the side of the road up ahead. There was something metal, a strip of some kind, in the middle of the highway. Even though Niall hit the brakes, it was too late. They ran over the spiked strip, puncturing their tires and throwing the truck into a wild spin.

Eyes clamped closed, Cruz cradled her belly and the baby and screamed as the truck slammed into something—a guard rail, maybe—and started to flip. Air bags exploded and filled the interior with an acrid dust that irritated her lungs. The punch of the bags sent her head flying back against the headrest. The crunch and scrape of metal stabbed her eardrums. They were tumbling down a small embankment into a dry creek bed.

When they finally hit bottom, the truck landed on its roof and bounced, the jarring sensation rattling her teeth. The truck swayed back and forth in a seesaw movement as the excess kinetic energy burned off. Their purpose served, the air bags deflated and sent more of the unpleasant dust into the air.

For a second, Cruz couldn't understand why her view was so skewed. As the initial shock faded, she realized she was upside down with only the seatbelt holding her in place. The fabric belt bit into her neck and arm, leaving a raw swath of hot skin. Her fingers moved over her face in a search for blood but found nothing.

Her hands moved to her belly in a frantic motion. The baby wasn't moving. Panic seized her in its vice-like grip. She forced her mind to move beyond the initial fear and remember that he, too, had just received a wild dose of adrenaline. He was probably trying to figure out what had happened to turn his cozy little home on its head. The knowledge that he was well-cushioned in the womb kept her from freaking out completely.

Cruz glanced over at Niall. He hung limply from the seat, the tightened belt the only thing holding him in place. She reached over to touch him and felt warm blood trickling down the side of his face. She fought the urge to shake him and shout his name. If he'd been knocked unconscious, he could have a brain or spinal injury. Jostling him was a terrible idea.

Suddenly, Cruz's mind cleared enough for her to remember the accident had been manmade. Someone had put something in the road, a spiky strip of some kind, that had sent them careening off the highway.

And that person was still out there.

El Alacrán. This time, she was sure of it.

She wasted precious seconds agonizing over what to do. The thought of leaving Niall in the truck made her ache. She loved him desperately and couldn’t abandon him. Only the knowledge that he would have ordered her to run, to save herself, kicked her into motion. She had to get out of the truck and hide. Someone would drive along soon enough and see the damaged guard rail or their headlights shining up into the surrounding trees. She just had to stay alive until help arrived.

Cruz's window had been busted out so she didn't have to worry about whether or not the controls still worked. Braced for what was sure to be a painful thump, Cruz unlatched her seatbelt and slipped free of the restraint. Her forehead smashed against the headliner as she wiggled her oversized body into place.

Glass cut into her knees and hands as she crouched on the roof of the truck and tried not to pass out from the sudden draining of blood from her head. She shook her head to clear the dizziness and reached for the glove box where Niall kept his gun. The truck's interior had shifted so much during the wreck, the glove box wouldn't open. It was stuck and no amount of yanking or banging was going to help. She searched for her purse but it was nowhere to be seen. So much for her pistol.

Cursing under her breath, Cruz climbed out of the truck through the broken window and crouched down against the door. To her utter relief, she didn't smell gas or other vehicle fluids. At least the truck wasn't in any danger of igniting. She felt a tiny bit better about leaving Niall but not much. The irony of their earlier conversation didn't escape her. She'd practically forced him into promising he'd leave her behind to save the baby and now she was doing exactly that to him.

And it felt awful.

Cruz kept low to the ground as she hurried away from the truck to a patch of brush and trees. She'd just reached her first hiding place when she heard the unmistakable snap and crackle of dry brush as someone descended the embankment. She scuttled deeper into the brush and trees. The painful scratching and tearing of the thorny bushes against her skin was only a minor nuisance. This was about survival. She'd happily take the battering from Mother Nature if she could just live.

As Cruz held her breath, she wished she'd taken the time to find a weapon of some kind. Even a jagged piece of glass would have been better than nothing. Terror clenched her gut as a man came into view. He swaggered so boldly toward the wrecked truck and stuck his head inside. The moonlight illuminated the terrifyingly large knife hooked to a holster on his thigh. She didn't miss the gun either.

He looked so familiar and yet so unknown. Niall's gut feelings sprang to mind. The waiter. The overweight trucker. This man. They all shared a similar profile and height. Disguises. The thought struck her so suddenly. It was easy to walk around unnoticed and "float" through walls if you continually changed your appearance. Apparently, Niall's radar wasn't so off after all.

Eyes wide, she watched to see what he would do. She expected him to pull his gun and finish off Niall but he didn't. Instead, he jerked out of the truck's cab and glanced around the creek bed. She held perfectly still. Hands fisted at her sides, she refused to breathe for fear he would hear her.

The man stood tall and turned toward the shining moon. His face was finally revealed to her. In her nightmares and flashbacks, he was a faceless ghoul but now he'd been revealed. He had a harsh face, all sharp angles and ugliness. The years of vile contract killings had warped his features. He struck her as the most unpleasant man she'd ever had the misfortune of spying.

He scanned his surroundings. A frisson of irrational fear slithered through her belly. What if he could see in the dark? What if he wasn't entirely human? He'd done such evil, terrible things. What if all those stories were true? Maybe there was the touch of the supernatural about him.

But he skipped right over her and headed off toward the opposite edge of the creek. Her terror dialed down a few notches as she tried to decide what to do next. She couldn't stay there forever. He was going to find her. She worried about running. He was bound to be faster and more agile. He wasn't carting around nearly twenty pounds of baby weight up front, after all.

"Cruz." El Alacrán spoke in the same crooning voice he'd used that night. "Come out, come out, wherever you are." His evil cackle sent chills down her spine. "Daddy's here. I'm ready to take my baby home."

She choked back the surge of vomit threatening to appear. Her frantic gaze jumped over her shoulder. She spotted a small clearing. Very carefully, she moved to her knees and started to crawl toward the opening. Her movements were fractional and tediously deliberate. One wrong move and he'd spot her.

"I wish you could know how happy you've made me." He started beating the bushes on the other side of the creek. "Do you have any idea how long I've wanted a son? A boy to carry on the family business?"

Cruz tried to filter out his voice. His crazy ravings were only making her more upset. She had to focus on getting free and making a run for it.

He huffed as he searched for her. The very idea of being taken by him made her want to scream. No doubt he planned to kill her once the baby was born. She couldn't let that happen. She'd fight him to the death before she gave up her son.

"You really surprised me, Cruz. I took a huge chance sneaking into your hospital to switch out the emergency contraception they gave you with placebos I stole from the in-house pharmacy. I knew there was a chance you'd get pregnant and I figured who better than you? Our boy will be brilliant just like you. If he inherits your softness, I’ll just beat it out of the boy."

Cruz slipped under a low bow of branches. Every word he spoke made her violently ill. She'd always wondered why the emergency contraception she'd been given as part of the hospital's sexual assault protocol hadn't worked and now she knew. Her knees wobbled at the knowledge that he'd been that close to her just hours after he'd beaten and raped her. Her skin crawled. The man was a monster.

"You're lucky. If the baby had been a girl, I'd have slipped into that new apartment of yours and killed you in the middle of the night. I would have made it quick though. Painless," he added, as if that was some kindness on his part.

Cruz glanced toward the sloping bank. She calculated how quickly she could make it up there and onto the side of the highway. El Alacrán had probably left his vehicle running. If she could reach it before him, she could get away and race back to town for help.

"All right, Cruz," he said, his voice betraying his exasperation. "Come out now or else I'm going to put two bullets in that cowboy's head. You've had your fun. It's over, girl. The sooner you accept that, the better. You don't want to make me angry. You've only got a few weeks left to live. You'll want to enjoy them, not spend them in a dog cage in my basement."