Page 35 of Texas-Sized Secrets

He held the door for her as she climbed into the driver’s seat of the ranch truck.

“This is as far as you go. Besides, you’re not dressed to go chasing cattle rustlers.”

“Who said we would chase them?” Her brows rose high on her forehead. “I just want to check on Rosa’s cousin who lives in the neighborhood. What harm could come of that?” She barely waited for Reed to climb in before she shifted into reverse and left Leon’s parking lot.

“I should have known Les and Wayne might have something to do with the rustling. They’ve always been trouble. I’m surprised the sheriff hasn’t checked them out already.”

“Who are they?”

“Les and Wayne were buddies back in high school. They set fires, tore up mailboxes and stole cars. They’ve been in and out of jail so many times, it wouldn’t surprise me if they were involved.” She shook her head. “Thing is, this cattle rustlin’ takes someone with a few more brain cells than Les and Wayne put together. They might be involved, along with the guy you saw last night, but I’m betting someone else is supplying the cattle trucks and four-wheelers.”

“If these guys are in the trailer court, you have no business being there.”

“Like I said, I’m just going to visit Rosa’s cousin. Maybe she can answer a few questions for us.”

Reed agreed reluctantly because he wasn’t the one driving. Had he been, he’d have turned the truck around and headed straight back to the Rancho Linda.

The trailer court was set back from the road, with the giant towers of the granary silos casting shadows over them. A few lights shone through tattered blinds on some of the trailers.

The creepy feeling that they were driving into a trap crawled across Reed’s skin. He found himself reaching for a gun at his belt. A gun that went along with wearing a law enforcement badge, both of which he didn’t have on him tonight. “I have a bad feeling about this. We’re not staying.”

“I’m going to talk to Maria. You stay out here and be my lookout. Maybe you’ll see something.” She dropped down out of the truck and climbed the rickety steps to the first trailer in the lot, clutching the hem of her dress to keep the wind from blowing it upward. At least the little bit of a yard and the windows were clean. An older Hispanic woman with similar features to Rosa’s opened the door and hurried Mona through. She stared around at the truck before closing the door behind her.

Reed waited in the shadows, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. About the time he could make heads or tails of the dark shapes, a vehicle slowed on the highway and headlight beams turned into the trailer park.

Closing one eye to maintain his night vision, Reed ducked behind Maria’s trailer and watched as a battered truck sped down the gravel road to the last trailer. Five men piled out.

One of the men banged his head on the roof of the truck and cursed, the dome light shining down on a nasty cut. The same five men from the bar the night before.

Reed was torn between waiting for Mona and going after the men. The decision was taken from him when Maria’s trailer door opened and Mona emerged.

Damn. She couldn’t have had worse timing.

The men at the end of the road scattered like vermin.

“Go back inside,” Reed called out in a loud whisper.

“No, I’m going with you.”

“Like hell. Get inside or I’ll throw you in the truck and take you straight home.”

“You can’t talk to me that way.”

“The more you talk, the farther away they’ll run. Now go inside and stay until I come back for you.”

“There are five of them and one of you. How do you propose to stop all five?”

“Leave it to me and lock the door behind you.”

Mona snorted, but thankfully walked back into the trailer. When the lock clicked, Reed took off at a run down the backside of the trailers in the direction the man with the cut had run.

A shadow disappeared between the first and second grain silos.

Reed raced after it, keeping close to the tree line until he reached the open area in front of the granary towers.

Unarmed, he’d be foolish to chase after a man into the country equivalent of a dark alley. He ran out into the open, headed for the corner of the silo, when a shot rang out, kicking up the gravel in front of him. Someone shouted in the dark, words Reed couldn’t understand.

Dodging first to the right and then to the left, Reed created an erratic zigzag pattern. Another shot rang out, the ground erupting behind him. Then he was at the corner of the tower. He slid around behind the structure into the shadows, straining to hear over the sound of his own breathing and the wail of the wind streaming between the silos.

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