Spanish Eyes_Texas Heat Read online

Other feminine cries and pleas were heard. “What’s going on?” one asked. “Don’t touch me!” screamed another.

  Angelina tried to remain alert, but she was completely disoriented. She could hear plaintive cries and muffled sobs. What was happening to them? With her ankle’s bound, the only steps she could take were slow and awkward. Her captor ignored her plight, jerking her forward until she crashed to the ground. Unable to rise by herself, all she could do was submit to whomever was dragging her to a place Angelina knew she had no desire to go.

  “Get them onboard, we’ve got to get out of here, pronto!”

  Angelina knew if they didn’t make some noise now, this could be their last chance. “Help! Help! Everyone scream!” she shouted.

  Several female voices chimed in with hers.

  Immediately there was a response from the men who were kidnapping them. “Shut the fuck up! Gag the bitches and drug them as soon as we get inside! I have no intention of flying eighty-five hundred miles listening to that drivel!”

  Angelina felt herself being yanked up and a nasty smelling rag was slapped around her head and forced into her mouth. A fear unlike any she’d ever known swept over her. Blind, mute, and bound, all Angelina could do was submit to whatever was happening to her.

  Eighty-five hundred miles?

  Oh, God, they were being stolen and transported a world away.

  “Don’t bruise them, remember they’re merchandise!” The same deep, merciless voice made itself known.

  Merchandise? Angelina’s breath hitched in her throat. Her heart was hammering so hard, she thought it would burst through her chest. Human trafficking, that’s all this could be. Angelina cried as fear engulfed her soul.

  After being slung to one side, she felt someone grasp her hair. Her normally neat bun was loose, giving her assailant something to grip. She tried to resist, but her efforts were futile. What awaited her, she could only guess. A pinprick to the side of her neck stole what little hope she had left.

  * * *

  “Easy girl, settle down, this is your new home. The storm outside won’t reach you in here.” Drew soothed the frightened mare by running a calming hand down her neck. “You’re going to like living with me, no one is going to hurt you again.” His tone, more so than his words, seemed to register with the horse. He kept stroking her, wondering how people could use an animal and then just throw them away when they were through with them.

  “How’s she settling in, Drew?”

  “Good, Hattie. She’ll be just fine.” He took the cup of coffee his housekeeper handed him as she threw her umbrella on the hay. Who was he kidding? She was more than a housekeeper or a cook, the woman had half raised him. As far as he was concerned, she had a home with him for life.

  “Where did this one come from?” The older woman came around to look the horse in the eyes.

  “She’d been racing over near Vinton, Louisiana. I bought her the day before she was to be taken to the slaughter house.” Drew rubbed the big white horse between her ears. “Give her the apple, Hattie. I can see the bulge in your pocket.”

  Hattie giggled like a school girl. “You caught me.” She fished the apple from her apron pocket and held it out for the animal.

  Tentatively, the mare took the fruit, munching it with teeth that weren’t as long or strong as they used to be. “Good?” Drew whispered to the horse. “There’s more where that came from, believe me. Hattie spoiled me and she’ll spoil you.”

  “You betcha, I will.” Hattie watched Drew gentle the animal. “You’re such a softie, aren’t you? If you’re not fighting someone else’s battles you aren’t happy.”

  “She needed me.” To Drew, it was as simple as that.

  “She’s a lucky girl, I’ll say that for her.” Hattie turned her attention to Drew. “Come in and eat some supper. I made your favorite dessert. Bread pudding.”

  “I’m not really hungry. Could you rewarm it for lunch tomorrow?” Drew felt like there was a knot as big as a baseball in his gut.

  “Something happen today? Did you have a hard case?”

  Drew couldn’t speak for a moment. When he finally did, he was hoarse with emotion. “Randy Ferguson drove his truck off Pendleton Bridge. He wasn’t breathing when they pulled him out of the water. I wasn’t able to save him.”

  “Oh, Drew.” Hattie placed a comforting hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry. That boy sure knew his way around a horse. What happened? Do you know?”

  Drew pushed his Stetson farther up on his head. “He’d been drinking,” he said softly. “Driving too fast. Drove through the guardrail.”

  “I know what you’re thinking.” Hattie knew good and well that Drew was remembering his father’s accident on the same five-mile long bridge that crossed the widest part of Toledo Bend Reservoir.

  “Yea, he went over at about the same place as Dad, right over the original Sabine River path, the deepest part.” What plagued Drew, was that he’d never know if his Dad’s death was an accident or on purpose.

  “Your daddy was a great doctor and a good man. He was in a lot of pain most of the time.” Hattie knew they’d had this conversation a hundred times. “I’ll never believe he would’ve left you on purpose. He loved you.”

  “I know.” Drew couldn’t argue her point, but the fact remained that Matthew Haley turned to pain killers and alcohol to make it through his days. Watching his father become enslaved to those things had nearly killed Drew. To this day, he rarely drank and only prescribed pain meds when there was no other choice. “I loved him too.” He just wished his love had been enough to keep his dad safe.

  But that was water under the bridge, he thought ironically. The only thing he could do now was live a life where he did his best to help others when he could. “I just wish they’d gotten to the Ferguson boy in time.”

  “You can’t fix everything, Drew.” Hattie gave her favorite person in the world a loving look. “All your life, you’ve tried to right wrongs and prevent bad things from happening. I remember you following your daddy around, making sure he didn’t leave a cigarette burning or double-checking his chart when he prescribed medicine. You knew more about medicine when you were ten, than some interns know after med school.”

  “I’m not that bad, am I?” Drew didn’t think so. “I’m a happy-go-lucky guy.”

  “One of these days you will be.” Hattie grinned. “When the right girl comes along. Although, I haven’t met one good enough for you, yet. But…I’ll keep looking!”

  * * *

  Aching all over, Angelina tried to concentrate. Slowly, she took inventory. No blindfold and no gag. She opened her eyes and took a deep breath. No ropes bound her hands and feet. With a gasp of pain, she rolled on her back and saw bars on the windows and bars on the door. She was in a jail cell or a prison. As her faculties returned to her, she could detect whispering in the distance. With great effort, she sat up. Whatever drugs they’d given her had left Angelina disoriented. Her mouth was so dry she felt like it was stuffed with cotton.

  “Angelina, are you okay?”

  “Celeste?” She rejoiced to hear the woman who now seemed like a friend. “Yes, I am. Are you all right?”

  “I think so. I think we all are. What’s going on? Do you know? Why did they take us?”

  In this case, ignorance was bliss. Having a brother, who she suspected was former Black Ops, Angelina had heard enough in her time to have a good idea what was happening. If only she could get a message to Rafe. Remembering her bag, she frantically made a grab for it, relieved to find it was still hanging from her shoulder. Opening it up, she discovered her ID and cell phone were gone. At least they’d left her medical supplies. “Celeste, I’m not sure,” she lied, hating to scare the others. If she was correct, they would all find out soon enough. “Does anyone have a cell phone? They took mine.” Glancing around, she could see eight other women huddled against the walls. They all looked helpless and hopeless, shaking their heads in the negative.

  “No, they searched us
all and confiscated anything they considered valuable,” Celeste replied.

  The stomping sound of boots approaching made Angelina jump.

  “All right, senoritas, everybody up. It’s time for the party to start!”

  The iron bars clanked as the cell door was opened and the bright beam of a flashlight split the darkness, illuminating the huddled mass of women. Angelina could see their tear streaked faces, the unbelieving panic in their eyes. “What are you going to do to us?” she asked boldly, stepping forward. “You won’t get away with it! When my brother finds out I’m missing, he’ll turn heaven and earth upside down to get me back.”

  “Your brother?” The young, tattooed guard sneered at Angelina. “I’m shaking in my boots, Juan, how about you?” His eyes raked her up and down. “I doubt anyone will come looking for you. I can see the boys weren’t very selective this time. They’ll probably end up just killing you, I don’t think you’ll be worth the trouble. Nobody would place a bid on you. You’re too fat to fuck.”

  “You leave her alone!” Celeste came forward, ready to stand by Angelina.

  Juan, a young black man with a ring in his nose, lunged for Celeste and Angelina stepped in between them. “Stop! Don’t you touch her!”

  The tattooed guard knocked Angelina out of the way, taking Celeste by the arm. He also yanked another girl toward the door, shoving them out into the hall. One by one, the women were herded out, Angelina bringing up the rear. “First, you appear before the Boss. Then, we have a little appointment set up for each of you with our doctor. We have to make sure you’re clean and in the mood before we put you up for auction.”

  Angelina frowned at the notion of a doctor examining them. And what did he mean by in the mood? As the women were led down a dank, dark pathway, she tried to figure a way out of this mess. The girls from the lab would miss her, for sure. They might think she just skipped out, but when they went to work and she didn’t show up, someone would alert the authorities, especially after it was affirmed she wasn’t just sick at home. Eventually, Rafe would be notified. But what could he do? He would have no idea where she was or what was happening to her.

  With her head clearing, she became aware of the foul, sour smells. Unfortunately, some of them were coming from her and some of the other girls. They’d never had an opportunity to make their pit stop to the restroom and in their drugged state had soiled themselves. “When can we clean up?” she asked.

  “Shut up, you don’t ask the questions, we do,” Tattoo barked back at her.

  Angelina and the others were led into a large room where two muscled up guards with large automatic rifles flanked two other men, one of whom wore a ski mask. “Sit!”

  The women took a seat in straight back chairs, some were crying, but Angelina was stoic.

  “Is this all of them?” the older bespectacled man asked, his eyes rheumy and weak looking at them from behind thick lenses.

  “Yes, only eight. This one,” Tattoo pointed to Angelina, “won’t do, Saldado. She’s too plain. The Sheik will take the rest if we clean them up and paint their faces.”

  “Take the rest to the infirmary,” the man in the ski mask said with a snap of his fingers. Coming to his feet, he stalked over to Angelina. “Leave the doctor here.”

  Angelina’s mouth fell open. He’d called her doctor. Her lab credentials weren’t in her bag, she always left them in her desk or on her lab coat. He waited until the others left the room, staring at Angelina with burning, fathomless eyes. She didn’t know what to say.

  “You might not fit our usual needs, but I think I know something else you’re good at. Right?”

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Don’t pretend, Senorita. You are Dr. Angelina Montoya, a premier American scientist. Your specialty is chemical and biological warfare.”

  “No. No.” She shook her head. “You are mistaken.”

  “We have access to the World Wide Web, doctor, we Googled you. There are many articles referencing your work.”

  With only his eyes visible, Angelina could only imagine he was sneering. She stared at those eyes, wondering why they seemed to be familiar. Angelina was as much angry as she was afraid. Knowing what she’d read about sexual slavery and human trafficking, she held out little hope for their survival. “If that’s the case, Saldado, you know my research is in the area of combating weapons of mass destruction, not creating them.”

  “Do not speak to me with disrespect! Your life is in my hands!” He backhanded her hard across the face.

  “Oh, really, sounds like you think I might be worth more to you alive than dead.” She licked a spot of blood from the corner of her lip. “I hate to bust your bubble, but if you’re planning on holding me for ransom, there’s no money in my family. My research job doesn’t pay worth a flip. It’s one of those jobs where the work itself is the reward instead of the salary. So, since I’m no good for sex and won’t bring you any money, I guess you might as well just let me go.”

  * * *

  “Ky, this is Drew, did you call?” Draping his stethoscope around his neck, he sat down next to an examining table to work on a patient’s chart.

  “I did. How would you like to stand up for me at my wedding?”

  Drew almost fell off his stool. “Oh, heck, yea. I’d love to. When are you and Cooper tying the knot?”

  “Two weeks from Saturday. Nothing fancy. Just a simple ceremony up at McMann Chapel. We’re not wearing tuxes. I know you’ve got a black western suit lying around somewhere.”

  “Count me in, I wouldn’t miss it.” Drew’s grin was huge. “The first of our crew to get married, I’m impressed. You always were the leader of the pack.”

  “Hey, I’ve always had bigger balls than you and my brother. Maybe now, you’ll start to believe me.”

  Drew stood and hung the chart in the rack just inside the examination room door. “I concede the title, I’m not ready to get hitched. I don’t know if I’ll ever be. My mother wasn’t fond of being a doctor’s wife. I’m told she used to say she wouldn’t wish the affliction on her worst enemy. Of course, my dad was never around when she needed him. If he wasn’t seeing after a patient, he was running the roads with Johnny Dance. All of this happened before my time, of course. My folks were married ten years before I came along. Dad was in Korea at the time.”

  “Johnny Dance, the old mortician?”

  “Yea, they were big drinking buddies. In those days, they used the big hearse for an ambulance and they’d take it out and race it up and down the dirt roads with siren blaring.”

  Ky laughed. “I remember that old hearse. Mr. Johnny was a hoot. He was the mortician for a long time in these parts. I remember hearing that he used to hide in a coffin in the display room and jump out when his employees passed by. Scared the bejesus out of them.”

  “I guess so. We used to do something similar when I was an intern in Houston, we’d hide in a drawer in the morgue refrigerator.”

  “Oh, Lord,” Ky groaned, “I’ve always wondered if those things have handles on the inside.”

  “No, they don’t.” Drew chuckled. “I learned that the hard way one night when my buddy got chased out and I was left behind. Talk about a cold turkey.”

  “Shoot, that’s funny. Whew!” He sighed. “We’ve got to get together and grab a beer soon, I’ve missed you.”

  “True, the only times I’ve seen you lately were under less than perfect circumstances.” He could remember three, all involving incidents when Cooper had been injured.

  “Damn, I’m glad those days are behind me. I don’t plan on letting that woman out of my sight again.”

  Drew could hear the love and fear in Ky’s voice “She went through a hard time, but you were there to save her. You two belong together.”

  “Absolutely, that’s why I’m insisting we get married right away. No long engagement for me.”

  “Will there be a rehearsal?”

  “Just enough for the preacher to tell us where to stand. Ty
ler will be in town, so the rest of the night we’ll party.”

  “I’m glad to hear Tyler’s coming in. I haven’t seen the Ranger in a while. How is he?”

  “Hot on the trail of a Mexican drug lord he thinks is responsible for kidnapping girls to sell in a Middle Eastern sex slave market.”

  Ky’s offhand comment made Drew’s eyes widen. “Oh, shit. I hope he’s careful. Of the three of us, he always was the one who could get into a fix the quickest.”

  “Isn’t that the truth. Well, this time he’s the Best Man, we’ll see if he can pull that off without getting his tail in a crack.”

  “I tell you what, why don’t you let me throw a BBQ here at the house the night of the rehearsal. We haven’t raised the roof of this rambling old Victorian in many a day. Hattie will love it.”

  “Are you sure?” Ky asked. “My parents will be here, we were planning on taking the whole wedding party out to a local restaurant, especially since Cooper doesn’t have any folks to throw a rehearsal dinner.”

  “I am positive,” Drew assured his friend. “You just give me a head count when you can and Hattie and I will take care of anything. We’ll even get some of the local boys to bring their guitars.”

  “Gee thanks, Drew, Cooper will be thrilled. I’ve always loved your briskets.”

  “Great, we’ll have an old-fashioned Texas hoedown to celebrate your wedding. I’ve got a feeling there’s sunny weather ahead for all of us.”

  “I hope so, these storms we’ve been having are ominous.” Kyler laughed as thunder rolled outside.

  “Don’t let them bother you, they aren’t a sign of anything other than tall hay and good crops in our future.” He stared out the window at a big pecan tree, it’s bark scarred from a long ago electrical storm. “Lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same place and you and Cooper have already had your share of trouble.”

  As they said goodbye and Drew ended the call, a loud boom shook the clinic and a bolt of fire split the old tree right in half.

  “Well, hell,” he muttered, “maybe I spoke too soon.”