Aimée Thurlo - Restless Wind

“Bruce won’t be coming back here. He’s probably looking for another vehicle right now.”

Ranger took the cell phone from Dana, shoved it in his shirt pocket, then tied Del up to the frame of the sofa with rope taken from the curtain rods. They were out of the house five minutes later. Two blocks from the house several police cruisers, sirens blaring, roared past them.

“What’s next?” she asked.

He handed her Del ’s cell phone. “Does he have Ignacio on speed dial?”

Dana checked it out. “There’s an I.T. listed so I think that’s probably him,” she said.

“Okay. Now I’m going to need something my brother has…or, more accurately, the brotherhood does.”

This was the first time he’d mentioned the brotherhood by name, and she gave him a surprised look.

He met her gaze, then focused back on the road. “You’ve risked your life repeatedly to help us. You’ve earned the right to be trusted,” he said.

“Will the others think that, too?” she asked in a soft voice.

“Once they know the whole story, yes,” he said slowly. “We can be ruthless with our enemies, but we also know how to honor our friends.”

He picked up the phone and called Hunter. “I need a piece of equipment-the voice scrambler gizmo. I have plans for it.”

“Okay, but we can’t use any of our usual drop sites because we don’t know which-if any-have been compromised,” he said. “So go to the place where you used to exchange notes with your first girlfriend, the preacher’s daughter. Remember?”

“Of course.”

“It’ll be there in twenty minutes. Give me twenty-five before making the pickup.”

“Okay. Thanks,” Ranger said, ending the call, then checking his watch.

As Ranger drove, he explained where they were going. “It’s a huge elm that died years ago, but there’s a knot in the trunk that comes out if you pull, and a space inside for hiding things.”

“I’m not sure I’m following you. Why do you need to disguise your voice?”

“Using Del ’s phone, I’m going to call Trujillo, and let him assume I’m Del. I’ll tell him that I’ve been taking all the risks and I’m sick of the whole thing. I’ll threaten to spill my guts to the feds unless I get more up-front money.”

“He’ll suspect a trap. Trujillo knows Del has as much to lose as he does. And what about Bruce? He could contact Trujillo at any time and blow your plan to shreds. We need a better hook.”

They reached the drop site a short time later and, as they got close to the elm, she saw two sets of initials carved into the trunk. “So who is JB?”

He grinned. “I had it bad for Janet Begay back then,” he said, working the knot in the center of the trunk loose. “Her father was a preacher, and he didn’t allow his daughter to date. She respected that, so, except for trading notes, the only time we had together was at school.”

Dana watched him carefully as he extracted a small device, then placed it in his shirt pocket.

“So what does that do?” she asked.

“You can change the pitch of your voice up and down, and other little tricks. I’m going to use it to fade in and out, like a bad connection.”

She nodded slowly. “Good. I have a new idea that’ll help us get the evidence we need, and using that device will really help,” she added. “When you call, pretending to be Del, tell him you’ve got the list he wants, but you need a quick payoff because you’re getting out of the area. Unless he can make it worth your while, the list of brotherhood members will go up for sale to the highest bidder.”

Ranger considered her plan and nodded. “I like it.”

“I can give you the name of a brotherhood member-one toward the top of the list that the medicine man gave them while drugged,” she added. “ Trujillo ’s probably got that name already and it’ll add credibility to your story.”

“No. We can’t jeopardize another brotherhood member without his knowledge and consent. I’ll give him my name and my brother’s. Neither will come as a surprise to him,” he said. “My brother Hunter played a key role in the operation that brought Ernesto down. And by now he knows I’ve been guarding you.”

Ranger hooked up the electronic device to the phone, entered a few code numbers, then made the call to Trujillo, pretending to be Del. After finishing his say, he waited.

There was a lengthy, tense silence before Trujillo spoke. “There’s no place a traitor can hide and when they find your body, somebody’s going to lose their breakfast.”

“I’ll be long gone before you ever order the hit,” Ranger countered, “and you don’t have the stones to come out of your hidey hole and do it yourself.” Before Trujillo could speak, Ranger named the price and saw the surprise register on Dana’s face.

“Cut the crap, Del. You think I’m falling for this scam?” Trujillo shot back in an ice-cold tone. “That list got burned in the fire.”

“Wrong. That’s what you get for trusting someone outside your family. I obtained it from a guy who held on to it in case he got pulled in by the feds and needed a bargaining chip. But he doesn’t have to worry about that anymore,” Ranger said in a deadly voice.

“What’s with the connection? You still in the mountains?” Trujillo asked.

“Good try, ex-boss. Here’s a little incentive. I’ll give you two names from the list just to show you I’m sincere-Hunter and Ranger Blueeyes.”

There was a pause. “Good choices, but they’re just names. Prove you’ve got the list.”

Ranger paused. “You’ll see the list when we meet eye-to-eye.”

“No deal.”

Dana, realizing that Ranger was losing ground, waved her hand in front of his face, getting his attention, then pointed to herself.

He shook his head, knowing what she was thinking.

“Let me go,” she yelled suddenly.

“What’s going on?” Trujillo asked immediately.

“TV’s on,” Ranger shot back, glowering at Dana and moving away from her quickly.

“They’ll catch you,” Dana yelled out, then cried out as if he’d hit her.

Ranger closed his eyes, then opened them again. There was no turning back now.

“You’ve got the Seles woman. That’s where you got the list,” Trujillo said flatly. “Where’s Blueeyes…if he’s dead, why haven’t I heard about it?”

“Your network’s gone, and I’m not admitting anything over a phone. But enough with the questions. You want the list or not?”

“Bring her-and the list of names-and I’ll have your money in cash.”

“Here’s where we’ll meet,” Ranger said, then gave him a location near the Brotherhood of Warriors’ operational base. He and his brothers knew that section of the rez like the palms of their hands.

After Ranger hung up, he glared at Dana. “Have you lost your mind?”

“You were losing him, and I was going to go with you anyway. What’s the difference?”

“News flash-you weren’t going. Correction, you aren’t going. There are others I can trust to protect you now.”

“In your dreams. Think about it a second. The only way to make sure he goes to prison is if I go along. Selling him the list doesn’t mean a thing to the courts, but kidnapping, or attempted murder, will.”

“The knowledge of the list and what it represents would have implicated him, Dana. Keep in mind that Glint was hired to get that list, and he knew what it was going to be used for. Once Trujillo ’s in custody, Glint will sing his lungs out.”

“Sorry to break it to you, but I would have come-one way or another. I need to see this through, too. And at least this way you’ll know where I am.”

“There’s a comforting thought,” he snapped.