Page 1 of Deception

1

Today was not a good day to die. Her Sig P229 ready, National Park Service Ranger Madison Thorn pressed her sticky back against the hangar as another bullet kicked up dirt three feet away. The shooter’s aim was getting better.

The Brewster County sheriff and his deputies were at least thirty minutes out. And an FBI response team based in Dallas was more than an hour away.

The hangar provided little shade from the Texas sun, and Madison backhanded sweat from her face. Sometimes being one of the elite Investigative Services Branch special agents tested her endurance—this case in particular. For the past six months, Madison had been part of the team investigating the human traffickers using Big Bend National Park for their smuggling operation.

She’d texted the FBI agent she was partnering with to meet her at the airstrip after getting a tip from a confidential informant. The human traffickers were flying in a load tonight. No word on what their cargo was.

Where are you, Chad?

After finding Chad’s vehicle hidden behind an outbuilding at the entrance, Madison expected him to be at their rendezvous point, but there was no sign of him. Her stomach churned. What if the cartel had lured them both here and Chad had beencaptured? No. The Chad Turner she’d fallen in love with was too smart to have been captured, so where in the world was he?

Madison hadn’t meant to fall in love with him, but he’d been so wounded when they met. His wife had left him, and he only saw his boy once a month. She was able to make him laugh again, and in turn he made her feel loved.

Movement in the rocks to her right caught her attention, followed by rapid gunfire. Madison zeroed in on the location, recognizing the shooter’s sandy hair. Chad. He was all right. She breathed a little easier and gave him cover as he dashed from the outcropping to the hangar.

“Where have you been?” she asked.

“Scouting.”

“When you weren’t here, I was afraid you didn’t get my message. Could you tell who the shooters were? Or see where they went?”

Chad shook his head and turned away from her. Madison slipped another clip in her Sig and studied him. His fingers tapped the side of his leg. A sure sign he was nervous.

Something was off. She glanced toward the thicket where the shots had come from. No one was firing at them now ... Had it been him all along?

No. He loved her. In the months she’d known Chad, she’d trusted him with her life, her heart. But Chad had changed in the last two months—ever since his ex-wife left town with their four-year-old son.

“You okay?”

They’d spent enough time together for Chad to read her. Pushing aside her thoughts, she managed a wry grin. “Are you kidding? People are shooting at us. A Dr Pepper would be good about now.”

“You and your Dr Peppers.” His chuckle sounded forced to Madison’s ears. “You’ve already had your one for the week.”

“Desperate circumstances call for desperate measures. At thispoint, it can only get better.” She glanced toward the thicket again. “I texted the sheriff. He’s on his way.”

Seconds passed.

“He’s not coming.”

Her breath stilled. “What do you mean?”

“Just what I said. I called him, told him it was a false alarm.”

Slowly she turned toward Chad, her heart almost stopping at the sight of his service revolver leveled at her.

“I’m sorry, Madison.” Regret filled his eyes.

She forced air into her lungs. This couldn’t be happening.

“Why, Chad?” Even as her mind refused to process what was happening, her body reacted in defense mode, conditioned by years of martial arts training. Automatically, she tensed and shifted to the balls of her feet. “I thought we had something special.”

“I don’t have any choice.” The regret vanished ... or maybe had never been there, just her wishful thinking. Instead, his steel-gray eyes hardened.

She judged the distance between them. A little closer would put her in striking range with her feet. “There’s always a choice.”

He shook his head. “Not this time. Put your gun on the ground. The one you carry at your back, as well.”

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