Page 74 of Bad Rio

As a child, she’d ridden enough times to be comfortable on horseback. Her mount was a paint quarter horse gelding. She patted his neck. His tail swished at a fly.

“Big Jim’s not your real dad, right? Or Rio’s? How’d you two end up here?” she asked Sarah, who sat close by on a bay mare.

Sarah raised her shoulder matter-of-factly, and resettled her straw hat. “We were both orphans. As an infant, Rio was left on the firehouse doorstep where our dad volunteered. That night he took Rio home.”

Becca felt her eyes widen. “Somebody left an infant at a firehouse?”

“Happens more than you might think. As for me, my mom was homeless. She didn’t want me anymore. Rio was about eight at the time. I was five, so I got an instant brother. Big Jim brought me home. Dad never married, never had kids of his own. We became his instant family. He formally adopted us both.”

“Wow.”

“We grew up here.” She gestured at the landscape around them. “Riding horses, taking care of the cattle, doing chores. Every year Rio and I would show a pet goat or a pig at the fair. When we were a little older, I competed in barrel racing. Rio team roped.”

“Rio can rope?” She couldn’t have been more surprised.

“He’s one of the best, a heeler. Coulda gone on the circuit, but he wanted to join the military.”

“I had no idea.” Becca fiddled with her horse’s mane. Add yet another talent to Rio’s already impressive skill set.

“On a working ranch, there’s always something to be done,” Sarah went on, “and while we were busy, we never had a lot of extras. But we had happy childhoods. Big Jim is a great man.”

“Sure sounds like it.” When Becca thought of her own posh, privileged upbringing, she couldn’t imagine that she’d had it better. While she, too, had a happy childhood, the best that a fat wallet could buy didn’t seem superior to this bucolic life.

By the end of their third day at the ranch, Rio called a meeting. At the kitchen table, Big Jim and Sarah took chairs next to Rio. They’d eaten the evening meal, and the last three slices of Becca’s apple pie. Everyone said it was delicious. After the dishes were cleared, Rio’s manner became serious.

“Okay, enough answers have come in for us to draw some conclusions. Becca,” he put his hand on her nape and rubbed, “are you sure you can handle this?”

She nodded, instantly tense. Somehow, after all they’d been through, it felt like they’d come to a crossroads. “I need the truth, wherever it leads.”

“Okay. Remember I said before to always follow the money? That’s what I did. Turns out your dad’s senate campaign is definitely leaking cash. It takes a lot of dough to run for high office. He’s getting donations, but they’re not enough. Just as we suspected, he’s been supplementing his war chest with a separate slush fund, which, by the way, is illegal as hell.”

At last facing the full truth, Becca swallowed hard. “That’s why Uncle—sorry, he’s not my uncle—that’s why Tim started the gun running out of the shop.”

“And the sex trafficking,” Rio added.

She bobbed her head.Ugh!

Big Jim’s eyes grew hard and Sarah stiffened. “That ain’t right,” Jim growled.

“Sounds like,” Sarah observed grimly “the definition ofdirty money.”

“As soon as we discovered it, I contacted some operatives I know,” Rio went on, “gave them the video link to the shop from those cameras we placed. They have the evidence. They took up surveillance and followed the trucks hauling guns and young females to the border at Juarez.”

Sarah gasped. “Oh, no! Those poor girls.”

Rio held up a hand. “Don’t worry. They were stopped. The guns and fentanyl were quietly confiscated, the driver arrested and the girls released. Another guy I’ve worked with, a tech expert, hacked into Daniel De Monte’s campaign accounts. The extra money has been laundered, and then deposited, and then spent. You know what that means, right Becca?”

“It means my worst nightmare. That my dad is well aware of all the illegal activity.” She spoke woodenly. Her head buzzed.

Sarah reached across the table to touch Becca’s arm. “I’m sorry, Becca. I’m so sorry.”

“What about my brothers?” she asked Rio, anxiety squeezing her chest. “Is there any evidence that they were involved?”

Rio shook his head. “That was checked out. They’re not in the loop. They’re clueless.”

Becca slumped. “That’s a relief, but honestly, I’m not surprised. I love the boys, but they are kind of ... clueless in an all-around way. At work, they’re fine salesmen, but once they leave, the remainder of their day is usually spent video gaming.”

“The games saved their lives, Becca.”

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