Texas Stand-Off: The Omega Team Novella (Kindle Worlds Novella) Read online

  * * *

  “Let me do the talking,” he ordered as they drove up to the hotel where they were supposed to meet with the BLM agent and his wife.

  Taz said nothing, she let him lead. When Deacon tapped on the door, a Texas Ranger was waiting for them. She was able to identify his position by the metal Texas lone star badge on his shirt. He was a handsome man; tall with dark hair but not as handsome as Deacon, Taz thought.

  “Come in. I’m Dallas McClain.”

  “Deacon Jones, Omega Team. This is Natasha Levin, my partner.”

  His partner? Taz vibrated with happiness as they shook hands. That feeling of elation soon faded when she saw the strained sad faces of Tex Zachary and his wife.

  Dallas introduced them and Taz was drawn to Melissa. She went to her, sat down and held out her hand. “I am so sorry. We are here to help you.”

  The sympathy in Taz’s voice seemed to be the catalyst for Melissa to release a dam of emotion. “He’s only seven, small for his age, and he’s sick.”

  Deacon bowed his head, placed a hand on Zachary’s arm and spoke lowly. “Steps are being taken to get your boy back and to get this situation under control.” To Dallas, he directed a question. “You’ve been following this situation from the beginning, what’s your take on it?”

  Dallas led the two men to a small table across the room from where the women sat on a couch. Maybe he was just tuned in to Natasha, but he could hear her voice plainly. I was taken from my family also. I know exactly how your son is feeling and he has faith in you. He knows you and his father are doing whatever it takes to get him home. Mickey hasn’t lost hope and neither should you. The Omega Team is the best in the world, they will not let you down.

  Dallas cleared his throat, capturing Deacon’s attention again. “Yes, I was aware of the BLM’s decision. Everyone knew it would be a difficult edict to carry out. No one wants to give up ownership of something they’re firmly convinced is theirs by right.”

  Tex Zachary held out his hand. “Look, right now I couldn’t care less about the motivations of the Bureau of Land Management. My son is more important to me than the rest of the world put together. But I can tell you there are times when the BLM works for the best interest of the nation. They protect land from being gobbled up by industry, they provide grazing land for ranchers, help fight fires, work with solar and wind power advocates–hell, what I’m saying is that I don’t agree with everything they do, but I was just doing my job. This wasn’t personal.”

  “We understand where you’re coming from, Mr. Zachary,” Dallas offered. “In fact, I can promise you Ainsley and his son are not the problem. They don’t want to give up their land, but I’d bet money they never intended for anything like this to happen, not in a million years. I can almost guarantee when someone gets in there to see what’s really going on, they’ll discover Ainsley and his family are just as much a hostage as your child.”

  “I need to know what to expect. I’m going to tape this, in case we need to clarify a point.” Deacon looked from the Ranger to the scared father who both gave him a nod of assent. “What condition do you think we’ll find your son in based on the amount of time he’s been without his medication?” he asked, hitting the record button on his phone.

  “That’s hard to know, it will depend on what type of food he’s been given to eat. We check his blood sugar several times a day.” As Zachary ticked off a disturbing list that included everything from fatigue and nausea to listlessness and extreme thirst, he could also hear Melissa and Natasha’s conversation. The mother was frantic. If we don’t get to him soon, he could slip into a diabetic coma. He could die!

  Deacon could see Taz comforting the mother. I understand completely. My grandmother suffered from diabetes and I learned very quickly how to check her blood sugar, evaluate her condition and make sure she took the medicine she needed. When we get to your son, we’ll do everything in our power to make sure he comes home to you alive and well.

  “My son is innocent, Mr. Jones. Please don’t let this bureaucratic struggle cause him to lose his life. I’ll quit my job. I’ll do anything. To tell you the truth, I want to go in after him myself right now!”

  Dallas handed Mr. Zachary a bottle of water. “Let us do our job, Sir. The men holding your son are volatile and we have to play this thing just right. We’ve got to have someone in there and on top of things before they even know what hit them. The Omega Team are experts in these type of situations. What we’re trying to avoid is an escalation where your son is caught in the crossfire.”

  “Oh, God!” Tex Zachary broke down and Deacon’s heart hurt for him.

  “We need to get everything in place so when we get the word, there won’t be any delay.” He faced Dallas, speaking quietly. “Do you know what else they’re asking for other than the prisoner release?”

  The ranger gave a short, hard laugh. “They’re asking for money, a million dollars from the BLM, a plane ride to Mexico and lastly, seemingly as an afterthought, they are demanding the deed for the land to be reinstated to the Ainsley family.”

  Deacon knew his priorities. “We’re not negotiators, but if we can just get in there, we won’t have a need for them. I…”

  Dallas interrupted them by holding up his hand. “Got a phone call. This may be news.”

  As he walked away, Deacon addressed Tex Zachary. “As soon as we leave here. Natasha and I are meeting with a few of the neighbors. What we’ll be looking for is inside information about the home, the people, and the situation. My boss, Grey, is working with the Governor and I can assure you everyone is cooperating to get your son out of there as soon as possible.”

  “I appreciate that, Mr. Jones. I pray you’re right.”

  Deacon nodded, noticing Taz had Mrs. Zachary fairly calm. They were speaking in lower tones now and he had to say he was impressed with his…partner. He still had no wish for her to walk into anything dangerous, but she could be very useful gathering information or just being a liaison between the team and whoever they were working with to ensure communication flowed smoothly. With a start, Deacon realized he was trying to justify giving her a recommendation. He was attempting to find some type of compromise where he could offer her a place to belong, as she’d longed for and still keep her safe in the process.

  When Dallas rejoined them, he had an odd look on his face. Directing his comment at Deacon, he motioned toward Taz. “You two better get on the road to speak to the neighbors. This thing may go down quicker than we thought. The hostage negotiator is close to convincing Rice to allow a medical professional to come in and treat the boy before any of the other demands are met. They’re telling them if something happens to the child–all bets are off.”

  “Great!” Zachary was all for it. “Let’s do it.”

  Dallas made eye contact with Deacon, giving him the idea they were about to have a private conversation. “You can rest assured we’re going to do the best for your boy. If you’ll excuse us, I need to walk these two out and give them a message from their boss.”

  Now it was Deacon’s turn to be confused. “You talked to Grey?”

  “Ms. Levin, could you join us outside?” The ranger called to Taz, who hugged Melissa Zachary good-bye and came over where Dallas was holding the door open for Deacon and Natasha to walk through.

  “What’s going on?” she asked Deacon. “Has something happened at the ranch?”

  Deacon placed a hand on the small of her back. He’d found he felt more grounded when he was touching her. “Yea, Dallas has information for us. What did you learn?”

  “I represent Kyle Chancellor. He’s not your normal Governor. They called him Thunderbird in the war, as you probably know.”

  Deacon nodded. “Yea, I know of him. We didn’t serve together; I did vote for him though.”

  “What I’m trying to say is that Kyle is intimately involved. He’s had experience with missions like this, both in the war and with his private team, the Equalizers. As you can probably guess,
the Governor wants to send someone in who can convince the crooks they’re a doctor or an EMT, give the child what he needs and get him out safely. His aim is to bring this to a peaceful end. He doesn’t want a shot fired until the child is safely off the ranch.”

  “Yes, I know the plan and I agree with you. I just hope that’s possible.” Deacon had to be honest.

  Taz wanted to say something so badly she thought she might burst. But she’d rather not have the discussion she knew was coming in front of the Texas Ranger. Instead, she commented, “So, we need to meet with the neighbors pronto.”

  “Correct.” Dallas nodded.

  “What about the message from my boss that you mentioned earlier?” Deacon had checked his phone but there was no text, call, or email from Grey.

  “Ah, yes,” Dallas smiled, “Kyle said Grey Holden is coming here. He should be flying into Wichita Falls in a couple of hours.”

  Deacon wasn’t surprised. He’d wondered about Holden’s decision to let Taz be his backup. He and Grey would be able to work together like a well-oiled machine. Taz wouldn’t have to be involved at all. He’d be able to keep her safe. Deacon was relieved.

  “Why is he coming?” Taz wondered out loud. “Something must be wrong. Something we don’t know.”

  “I’m sure he just needed to get out of town.” Deacon said and Dallas gave him a look. “We’ll call you once we visit the neighbors. Do you have directions for me?”

  “I do.” Dallas nodded. “I’ll email you the addresses and all the information I have right away.” The men shook hands and Dallas tipped his hat to Taz. “Ma’am, it was good to meet you.”

  They said their goodbyes and Taz followed Deacon out. “I feel so sorry for the mother. She is so scared.” Instinctively, she reached for his hand.

  They walked together until they drew nearer and she tried to pull away to move to the passenger side of the vehicle. To her surprise, he came around to her door, opened it and lifted her onto the seat, stealing a kiss. “I heard you talking to her. You know exactly how that little boy feels, don’t you? You were stolen from your family. Alone. Afraid.”

  Taz wrapped her arms around his neck. “Hopefully Mickey isn’t being hurt, but he is in danger. We have to do something.”

  “We will.” He buckled her seat belt. “I promise.”

  They drove north of town, heading toward the Red River. Taz sat with one leg under her, not even trying to hide the fact she was studying Deacon. “Why is Grey coming to Texas?”

  “He’s probably coming to visit Kyle and check up on me. With all of the mass shootings and the tension between the government and radical factions lately, this situation has the potential to become incendiary. Like Dallas said, the Governor wants this settled as quickly and peacefully as possible.”

  Taz nodded. She hadn’t really thought his arrival was about her. “You two fought together in the Middle East?”

  “Yes.” Deacon adjusted his rear-view mirror. “Grey’s been a good friend. We met right after I enlisted.” He smiled, remembering. “The man is crazy. We had some good times and we saw hell too. He stood up with me at my wedding, told me I was making a mistake. I wish I’d listened to him.”

  “Your wife was crazy for leaving you.”

  Deacon met her gaze. “We hadn’t been married long. I was gone from home more than we were together. I’m not sure our relationship would have lasted, even if I hadn’t lost my leg. We didn’t have a lot in common.”

  Taz longed to remind him how much the two of them had in common, but she didn’t. Her feelings for Deacon were so unexpected, yet so powerful, she really didn’t know what to do with them. He was such an enigma at times. She had no idea what the future held, whether he’d allow her to stay and work with the Omega Team or if he’d send her on her way. It was hard for her to imagine they could share one another’s bodies as they’d done last night and not have some lasting connection–but she was too afraid to hope. “Do you have family?”

  Deacon ran his hand under his right knee, massaging the muscle that fit into the prosthetic cup. “I have a brother. I don’t see him often, but we get together every summer in Colorado. Our parents were older, my mom passed while I was in college and my dad died right after I married Sylvia. I had a good childhood, nothing like what you went through.” As he slowed down at a light, he placed his hand on her knee. “You do realize I admire the hell out of you, don’t you? I know no one else who could’ve endured what you did and come out so strong. And you’re such a little bit of a thing…” He jerked his head back to watch the road when a car horn blew.

  “I couldn’t quit. I have to go try to become someone.” She didn’t want to talk this way; she didn’t want to cry. “Who are we meeting?”

  “You are someone, Natasha Levin.” He handed her his phone. “A very sweet someone. Read the last email from Ranger McClain.”

  She dashed a drop of wetness from her cheek and read the name and address. “We’re meeting a Mr. and Mrs. Baxter.”

  “Yea, they might not tell us anything we don’t already know, but we have to try.”

  “Do you really think this will be over soon?”

  “There’s a lot going on we don’t see. Dallas told me in his email that they’ve set up a headquarters of sorts at the Baxter Ranch. They share a property line with the Ainsley’s and everyone can confer there and monitor the situation.”

  “Will I be able to help or will Grey’s arrival mean I’m not needed?”

  Deacon could hear the disappointment in her voice, but he wouldn’t lie. “You’ve already been helpful. You’ll watch the mission unfold with everyone else at headquarters. There was never a way I was going to allow you any nearer to the danger than that anyway, no matter what Grey might’ve said. This is one principle of mine that I cannot abandon. Women don’t belong in combat situations. Period.”

  There was no need to say more. She was tired of pushing, of hoping. He’d made his position abundantly clear. He’d never know she wanted to stay for him, being a part of the team was important, but secondary to Deacon. Looking out the window as if she found the passing scenery captivating, Taz admitted to herself it was time to say goodbye.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “Look over there,” Rob Baxter pointed to a sign that read, ‘State Line’. They were standing on a grassy bluff south of the lone bridge that crossed the Red River. “Since the south bank of the Red is supposed to be the border between Texas and Oklahoma, you’d think we’d be looking at muddy water and sandbars. Hell, no. Thanks to lawsuits, judges, and acts of God, the line is now about half a mile south, located in our pastures.”

  “I can see how disturbing this must be.” Deacon commiserated with the rancher.

  “Have you ever seen the Duke in Red River, where he steps out of the river, and announces he’s in Texas?”

  “Yes, I love John Wayne.” Taz said.

  Deacon hid a smile. Taz and her movies.

  “Well, he wouldn’t be in standing in Texas now. Those days are gone.”

  While Deacon listened to Mr. Baxter’s laments, Taz pulled the drawing from her pocket. She’d sat down with Lois Baxter and drew a rough sketch of the Ainsley house based on her description. She noted every exit, every window, including the basement which contained a storm cellar with an opening to the outside shielded by double doors which were protected–as best as Mrs. Baxter could remember–by a simple hook latch. Taz had asked every question she could think of and now she and Deacon had a pretty good idea of what anyone admitted to the Ainsley ranch could expect. Lois Baxter explained how Ainsley’s wife was on a walker, rehabilitating from hip surgery. The home was big, and since the rancher and his wife were getting up in years, their son, Clive, and his wife Lisa lived with them. They had a child, a girl, who was twelve years old. Lois didn’t know the three outsiders, but she agreed with the others. The Ainsley’s weren’t the sort to endanger a child’s life–theirs or anyone else’s.

  “This situation just got out of hand,”
Lois had whispered. “If that child dies, Margaret Ainsley will never forgive herself.” She’d grabbed Taz’s hand. “Tell me, they aren’t going to be held responsible for this mess.” Tax explained she wasn’t sure, but from what she’d heard of Governor Chancellor, he was a fair man.

  “Let’s get back,” Deacon motioned to Taz. “Dallas just called and we’ve got company.”

  They returned to the Baxter’s home which was now running rife with Rangers, technicians, and members of the local police force. “There’s enough people here to fight a small war,” Deacon announced quietly. “I’ll be glad for Grey to get here. The man commands respect like nobody’s business.”

  “I’m sure he does.” Her time with Athena had been before her friend met Grey. But she and Athena kept up with one another, and when Grey and Athena decided to form the Omega Team, Athena called her. After weeks of discussion, Grey asked her to come see Deacon. And the rest, as they said so often in the movies, was history.

  “How far are we from the Ainsley’s ranch house?” Deacon asked Dallas who’d met them near the Baxter’s garage.

  “About five miles as the crow flies, eight if you drive around by way of the road.”

  Taz went to stand by Deacon. Even if their time was short, she couldn’t pretend she didn’t care about him. “Do we have any idea what kind of weapons they have over there?”

  Deacon didn’t get a chance to answer. Dallas interjected, stepping close to them. “We flew a helicopter over there to take photographs, but they shot at us. We know the Ainsley’s themselves have a collection of deer rifles and a pistol or two. The other three, we expect they brought an arsenal. There’s no telling what you’ll find. Burgess has been known to carry an automatic weapon.”

  Taz shivered, not for herself but for Deacon. “Do they have bulletproof vests for you to wear?”

  “Grey will bring them, I’m sure.” Deacon assured her, pushing a long lock of her auburn hair off her shoulder.

  “We have extras.” Dallas said before speaking into a radio. “All right. Very good. Grey’s bird is about to land.”