Christmas Double Cross
“I won’t.” He whipped around so fast his hair flopped across his forehead. “Somebody tried to kidnap you. Don’t you think that’s a little bit worse than tearing apart the store? You know what they keep talking about at school, warning the girls about? It’s not drugs these guys are after now. It’s pretty girls. Young girls. Wanna know why?”
“Stop it.” Nausea whirled in her stomach, overwhelming the pain with a fear that might take her out. If those guys were human traffickers...
Justin’s expression softened and he came back to her, resting his hand on her head again, the way their father had done when they were kids. “Help stop these guys. Make sure they don’t target somebody else, somebody who doesn’t have a hero willing to chase them down. One of them... One of them got away.”
“Then they can question the other one.”
His fingers tightened on her scalp. “The driver’s dead. He didn’t have an ID on him.”
Dead. It was a final, awful word, even for a man who had harmed her. “Who told you that?”
“The guy who saved your life.” His words bit off at the end. He was trying to bury his fear underneath anger.
Danielle’s eyes widened. “He’s here?”
“At the end of the hall in a huddle with a bunch of official-looking types. I think he’s a cop. Or something bigger. There’s some cowboy hats, boots, leather belts out there...”
Texas Rangers? They handled things the police wouldn’t touch.
Maybe that was what she needed. “I’ll talk to Colter Beckett. But only him. Nobody else comes in this room.” Something in his demeanor at the store had tugged at her, had said that despite the odd air about him, she could trust him.
And he had, after all, been the one to rescue her.
Justin headed for the door, then stopped at the entrance and hung his head. He glanced back at her, all traces of his earlier anger and frustration gone. “I’m glad you’re okay. If you weren’t...”
If she could get out of bed and go to him, she would. Even if he tried to pull away, she’d hug him hard enough to reassure both of them. “God’s got us, Justin.”
“Sure He does.” He was gone before she could say anything else.
Spent after trying to be strong for him, Danielle shut her eyes and let the weight of her head pull her into the pillow. All she wanted was to go home, but she hadn’t seen a doctor or a nurse to ask how long she’d be here.
A soft tap at the door opened her eyes again.
Colter Beckett stood there. Tall. Muscular. His brown eyes just as unreadable now as they had been in the shop. But the set of his jaw was a whole lot different.
Guarded. Cautious. Angry.
But at whom?
Stepping into the room, he shut the door and strode in with a defiant confidence he hadn’t carried earlier. He stopped at the foot of her bed and looked down at her as though he was holding back a whole lot of what he really wanted to say.
She suddenly wished she hadn’t let him in the room.
With practiced efficiency, he held out identification that included the familiar star-shaped badge of the Texas Rangers. “Ranger Colter Blackthorn. Who were those men?”
The abrupt question tensed her shoulders and raked across her already aching head. “I’m sorry?”
“Did you recognize either one of them? Have you seen them before? Anywhere?”
Danielle shook her head, her eyebrows furrowing and tugging on the bruise that was bound to be forming in her check and jaw. Something was wrong. The way he was looking at her, questioning her... It was exactly like the police had treated her when the shop was vandalized.
She wasn’t the victim in his mind.
Somehow, she was the criminal.
* * *
The barely controlled anger coursing through Colt wasn’t something he was used to. Looking down at the woman who was responsible for so much betrayal and death and pain... His fingers wrapped around the hard plastic at the foot of the bed and dug in, his jaw clenched so tight the tension radiated into his temples.
She had no right to look up at him with eyes so wide and frightened, tugging at his sympathy and making him want to ease up on his questions. He was starting to understand how Brent could have fallen for her manipulations. But he wouldn’t be that easily trapped.
He pulled a deep breath in through his nose and fixed his gaze on hers.
She shrunk further into herself. For half a second, he almost relented, but then he remembered who he was dealing with. A woman cold-blooded enough to kill for what she wanted, greedy enough to funnel drugs into the country without care for the harm she was doing.
Colt forced his jaw to work. “If I were you, I’d start talking now, Danielle.” Her name ground out on a wave of sarcasm so heavy, it nearly sank in the air. “We already have the warrant for your apartment. Your prints and DNA are being run as we speak, courtesy of that same warrant. You’re caught. It’s over.”
Her mouth opened, closed. Wide brown eyes narrowed, a deep V writing confusion between her eyes as she shook her head. “What is... I don’t...” She exhaled loudly and leaned her head back toward the ceiling, muttering something softly in Spanish. Colt picked up only a few words. Jesus. Help me.
Wow. She was a better actress than he’d thought. She’d have to be to fool Rio, who wasn’t known for being the trusting type. But appealing to Jesus? Colt hadn’t been on speaking terms with God in many years, but even he knew that was a low blow.
Still, she looked helpless. Scared.
The fear in her eyes drew him, made him want to dial back his aggression and comfort her, make her feel better.
But she couldn’t drag him in. He’d long ago grown cold.
Tucking his elbows closer to his sides, he pulled his gaze from her to a spot just above her head. Forgetting who he was dealing with would be dangerous. “Why me? Why talk to me?”
“Because I thought you were someone who could be trusted. When it comes to the authorities, I’m picky lately.”
She’d found her voice, and it was rising fast.
“Seems to me, if I were you, I’d be picky, too.” Colt let himself pin her eyes again. “You chose the wrong person to trust, because I’m the one you ought to fear the most.”
Her eyes widened as her head jerked back. She winced from the movement, tears edging to the corners of her eyes.
He turned his head to look out the window at the El Paso skyline. “Listen, I’ll lay it out for you. What we want is—”
“Colt.” The voice came from behind him, low and loaded with authority.
Forcing his fingers to unlock from the foot of the bed, Colt turned to face Austin Brewer, who stood in the doorway, imposing in his unofficial uniform of khaki pants and a white button-down, his Stetson at his side. Normally, Austin was smiling, but not now. Something in his expression said things had gotten a whole lot worse than someone trying to kidnap the suspect the Rangers had been hunting.
His gut twisted. Was it Carmen? Since going undercover in the Garcia cartel over a month ago, Ranger Carmen Alvarez had been missing. No contact. No nothing. The greatest fear among the team was that she’d been taken... Or worse. And the look on Austin’s face right now hinted that Colt might need to steel himself.
If they’d lost Carmen because of the woman behind him... He fisted his hands and walked toward Austin, who fell into step beside him.
“You can’t question her like that. You’re way out of line.” Austin kept his voice low, a reminder, not a reprimand.
Digging his teeth into his lower lip, Colt stayed quiet. Austin spoke the truth. They had to tread lightly or a technicality would wreck this case in court.
“Now come with me—there are some things you should know,” Austin continued, leading Colt a short distance up the hallway where Rangers Trevor Street and Ethan Hilliard waited.
Trevor’s glance raked over Colt’s then stuck to a bulletin board on the wall, something like pity, maybe even frustration, in the look.
Ethan just watched.
“Carmen?” Colt wasn’t going to wait for someone to lob the grenade. He was going to pull the pin himself.
Ethan shook his head. “No word on that front.”
That was either good...or very, very bad. Bad news meant closure. No news meant she was still out there, and no one knew her condition. But Colt knew Carmen. She was smart. Tough. Savvy enough to keep from being found out. Knowing her, she was hiding, waiting for the right time to come in and blow this whole thing wide open.
If that was the case, why did everyone look as though someone had keyed their pickups?
Austin blew out a loud breath and scratched the top of his head. “No easy way to say this, Blackthorn.”
“Then spit it out.”
“That woman is not Adriana Garcia. Not even close.”
Colt backed off and stalked up the hallway away from his teammates, dragging his hand through his hair. No way. The woman in that hospital bed had to be Adriana Garcia. The photo wouldn’t lie. Neither would his gut.
Except his gut had proven wrong one too many times recently, which was probably why Trevor couldn’t look him in the eye.
Colt turned back to his team but didn’t step closer. “Prove it.”
“The print we lifted off the business card? It belongs to Danielle Segovia. The same one that’s been showing up in the database all along. Twenty-six. Born and raised here in El Paso. Mother was Mexican. Father an American she met when he was stationed at Bliss. Both died in a car wreck a few years ago. She’s raising a younger brother. We have school records, taxes filed. She’s solid. The print doesn’t match Garcia’s.”
“A good cover.” Except fingerprints didn’t typically lie.
“There’s more. Lizzie called. Preliminary DNA testing on the blood found in the car’s trunk is way off. Danielle Segovia is not even a twelfth cousin to the Garcias.”
The words hit Colt in the chest, forcing the air from his lungs. He gripped his cheeks and dragged his hand along his mouth, tugging at the tension in his jaws. “So why did someone try to take her?”
“Same reason we came after her. Same reason local law enforcement tipped us when she called them about the break-in at her store and she looked just like the BOLO we put out on Adriana.” Ethan straightened and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I glanced through the window of the room just now while you two were talking.” He held his phone up, open to the passport photo of Adriana Garcia that they all carried. “She’s a dead ringer, right down to the way she parts her hair.”
Trevor sniffed and finally spoke. “Which means Manning and Rook are at the wrong apartment right now, searching for evidence they’re never going to find.”
“Major Vance already called them off,” Ethan said. “They’re headed here, because we’ve got bigger problems in that hospital room right now.”
Colt dropped his chin and shook his head. Bigger problems was an understatement. Not only had they not found the woman half of the state was hunting, they’d led Rio Garcia here and put a civilian in danger. That meant Danielle Segovia was one more complication in the hunt for Adriana Garcia.
One that could prove deadly for the woman they had placed in harm’s way.
FOUR
Pain, fear and confusion spun into a cocktail that threatened to swamp Danielle.
When the door closed behind the two men, the tension in the room dropped palpably. Danielle sank into the pillow and closed her eyes, willing the world to stop spinning. A Texas Ranger had gone undercover in her shop, then rescued her from kidnappers only to interrogate her now. This had to be a trauma-induced nightmare. The way he’d talked to her, it was clear that he believed she’d done something wrong, but he’d never said what it was.
The only thing she knew with certainty was that she wanted out of here before Colter Blackthorn came back. If he started in on her again, she didn’t know what she’d do. Too much had happened in the past few hours. The last thing she needed was to fall apart in front of the angry Ranger. He’d probably view the weakness as some sort of confession.
Her finger hovered over the call button for the nurse. They couldn’t keep her here. She could refuse treatment, tell them she wanted to be discharged. There were plenty of people from church who’d be willing to drive her home.
But the Rangers knew where to find her. This wouldn’t be over until they got whatever it was they wanted from her.
Dropping her hand to the bed beside her, Danielle gave up and closed her eyes. She’d have to ride this out and pray she didn’t wind up in jail for someone else’s crimes.
Jesus, I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t understand anything that’s happened tonight. But, Lord, give Colter Blackthorn the truth about me. Don’t let me go to jail and leave Justin on his own.
There it was. Her biggest fear. If something happened to her, who would take care of her brother? Especially now, when he was spending more and more time with those friends of his who now had him believing he needed a gun at fifteen. None of this boded well.
Two light taps on the door drifted across the room, followed by a slight shuffling sound.
Danielle didn’t even open her eyes. It was probably the doctor. Finally. He could discharge her and get her out of here.
“Ms. Segovia?” The male voice was quiet, but its speaker was unmistakable.
Danielle stiffened. He was back.
She had a choice. Knuckle under and collapse in front of him or put up the brave front she’d used when her parents died, the one that had gotten her custody of her brother when she’d fought for him in front of the family court judge.
Easing her eyes open, Danielle prepared for battle. She wasn’t backing down to a lie. Fixing a hard gaze on Colt, she bit out her next words. “I have nothing more to say to you.” The fire was unfamiliar on her tongue. She was used to being customer-service-oriented and friendly at all times, used to cooperating with law enforcement even when they didn’t cooperate with her.
The tiniest fringes of regret blew across her heart. He’d seemed so nice earlier, and to think it had all been an act...
Disappointment she really shouldn’t feel chewed at her, lighting a fire under a righteous indignation. He deserved her anger. “You can go now. I’ll speak to you when I have an attorney.”
Standing near the door, Colter Blackthorn stared straight at her, his brown eyes serious but lacking the rage they’d held earlier. Something else was there now, something like regret and possibly sadness. His jaw worked slightly, probably in frustration. Finally, he pulled his phone from his pocket and glanced at it, then looked at the chair Justin had pulled up beside her bed. “May I?”
She should tell him no after the way he’d charged in here the first time, accusing her of vague crimes. But there was something about the air around him that said this time was different. It might be a tactic to get her talking, but he had her curiosity. “If you can be civil, you can sit.”
His mouth twitched, and a flash of amusement skipped across his face before he could reset his stern Ranger look.
It was cute.
Before she could stop herself, Danielle rolled her eyes. Zoe was right. She needed to go on a date soon. Really soon if she was going to think the Ranger who’d just tormented her was in any way attractive. He needed to say his piece and get out the door. That was all.
Settling in the chair, Colt stared at the window across the room, his thumb tapping his phone screen, but he said nothing.
The silence stretched so thin Danielle thought she might snap in two. “Is this an interrogation tactic? Stay quiet until I talk? I’ve watched TV, you know. I understand how this works. I get my rights read. I get a lawyer. I get a whole lot of things you haven’t given me, Mr. Blackthorn.”
This time, a slow smile did lift his lips. Not a big one. Just enough to give a hint of what it would look like if he ever gave up his rigid control and let himself be fully amused by something. “Call me Colt. And you’re right. I charged in here earlier and treated you worse than I should treat anyone—whether they are or aren’t a criminal. You’ve been through a lot this evening, and I apologize.”
Danielle’s mouth fell open, tugging painfully at the bruise on her cheek. This was the last thing she’d expected. The man before her was contrite and humble, more like the man who’d walked into her shop and shared a moment with her about her mother. “Is it true? You lost someone?” The question popped out before she could catch it. Something in her had connected with him in that moment over her mother’s statue, and she wanted it back.
His smile faded. “There are some things I won’t lie about even when I’m undercover. That’s one of them.” The heaviness of his voice dropped it into bass territory, the tone thrumming across Danielle’s heart.
Whatever meds they had pumped into her, she needed to be off them fast. They were making her delusional enough to think she was attracted to this man. “Why would you have to go undercover for me? What exactly is it you think I did wrong?”
“Ms. Segovia.” Colt leaned forward, his dark eyes serious. “We have a problem.”
Adrenaline jolted against Danielle’s chest and throbbed in the bruise on her cheek. “Whatever you think I did, I didn’t. I’ve never—”
“It’s not you.” Glancing down at his cell phone and flicking through a couple of screens, he said, “Do you know who Rio Garcia is?”
Danielle’s head jerked back in shock. Rio Garcia was the leader of a notorious, murderous drug cartel. Everyone in the state, maybe even in the country, knew that name. In these parts, it brought fear to most who heard it. He was known for his calculated cunning and his murderous rages, for his ability to slip away from the authorities even when they believed they had him cornered. She lay awake at night worrying the group her brother had gotten tangled up with was somehow tied to the cartel, because Garcia had his hands in nearly all of the criminal activity in the area. He squashed any criminal who didn’t answer to him.
Her stomach roiled. This was about Justin, about his friends. This was her worst nightmare. “I don’t have any connection to him.”
“But the men who tried to kidnap you tonight may.”
Danielle’s muscles went weak. If she wasn’t already lying down, she’d melt to the floor. “Why?”
Colt didn’t answer the question immediately. He stared at his cell phone for what felt like an eternity, then studied Danielle’s face before passing the device to her without a word.
Hand trembling, Danielle took the phone but didn’t look at it. Instead, she studied the silent man beside her, trying to decide if he was friend or foe. Whatever she was holding in her hand, something told her she was about to need a friend in a very big way.
The screen went dark, and Danielle swiped her thumb to bring it back to life. At first glance, the woman staring back up at her could be her twin sister. They had the same hair, the same eyes, but the other woman had a small scar next to her ear. Still, the resemblance was enough to make her feel she’d fallen out of reality into a very bad horror movie. “Who is this?” She couldn’t take her eyes from the picture. If the picture didn’t include an outfit she’d never owned and a setting she’d never before seen, she’d swear the woman was her.
Colt studied her as though her reaction to what he was about to say was of vital importance. “Her name is Adriana Garcia.”
Garcia. Heart pounding, Danielle stared at the woman. “She looks like me.”
Holding out his hand, Colt took the phone and pocketed it. “She’s Rio Garcia’s sister. She’s wanted by both sides of the law for multiple reasons, and both sides will do whatever it takes to get to her first.”
“Why is he having to search for his own sister?” She couldn’t fathom that sort of distance between siblings. “I don’t understand.”
“The most I can tell you is that she stole something from him, and he wants it back.” He laid a hand on hers, his fingers warm as hers grew increasingly chilled. “We had intel that suggested you were her, but as you know, that intel was bad. The problem is, we believe Rio Garcia received the same intel, and that those were his men who came after you.”
Danielle shook her head. Over and over again, back and forth. She wasn’t hearing this. It couldn’t be true.
Because if a killer like Rio Garcia believed she was the person he wanted, he would stop at nothing to drag her to him.
* * *
Over the years in the military, in police work, and in his newly minted career as a Texas Ranger, Colt had encountered his share of females in distress. While his heart normally went out to them, it always remained mostly untouched. He’d always been able to stay completely focused and professional.
When the gravity of her situation hit Danielle Segovia, draining the color from her face, his heart clinched in his chest and threatened to stop beating. It was a feeling he hadn’t experienced since he was a teenager, watching as his mother suffered with the news that his brother Caleb was gone.
If he’d doubted Danielle’s innocence before, there was no more question. A person could fake a lot of things, but unless they were very well trained, they couldn’t make their skin pale with fear. He couldn’t imagine how the news was hitting her. Learning that the leader of one of the most dangerous drug cartels in North America had you in his sights would give even the bravest man pause. The blow he’d just delivered to Danielle in the wake of her attempted abduction ought to be enough to slay her.
For the longest time, she stared at the door as though she expected it to be kicked open by Garcia’s henchmen at any second. It was as though she’d forgotten Colt was there.
He squeezed her fingers, half surprised to find her hand still in his. “Ms. Segovia...”
“Danielle.” Gently, she extracted her hand from his, though she didn’t look at him. “What do I do now?”
Sitting back in the chair, Colt puffed out a heavy breath. This was the tricky part. With Carmen missing, the team was already short a member. He’d love to offer Danielle a twenty-four-hour guard, but he wasn’t sure it was feasible, and it wasn’t something he could do without Major Vance’s permission. “That’s up to you. We can try to locate a safe house, if you’d like.”
“A safe house?” She blinked twice, and her gaze swung to him. “As in disappear?” She shook her head. “I can’t do that. Justin has school. My shop can’t simply shut down during our busiest time. I’m volunteering at the Mission and, this close to Christmas, they need me. And...Christmas.” Her voice faded into nothing as the reality of her situation dug deeper. “Is there anything else I can do?”
Their options were limited, especially with all available resources dedicated to the hunt for Adriana Garcia. They had to keep their attention on their target. The last thing they needed was another Garcia funneling drugs into the country.
Additionally, taking down Rio Garcia had been a top priority of E Company for years and would represent a major blow to the drug trade on the US-Mexican border. He’d been on the move more than usual lately, tracking his sister. Sooner or later, he’d slip up enough for the Rangers to snap the trap. Until that occurred, they couldn’t afford to lose their focus.
Except...
Colt stared at the woman in front of him. The Rangers knew Danielle wasn’t Adriana, but Rio had no idea. He’d tried to take her once, and the chances were high he would come after her again. Not only was her safety as a civilian precious, but her very existence might lead Rio Garcia straight to them. She couldn’t be bait—Colt would never suggest putting a civilian in danger like that—but since they knew Garcia was bold enough to try again, they might as well put someone into place to not only protect Danielle but to keep an eye out for the cartel leader’s next move.
Colt was on his feet and headed for the door. He had to talk to the team, then call Major Vance. If they could have a Ranger stick close to Danielle, then Rio Garcia might play right into their hands.
