Elizabeth Goddard - Texas Christmas Defender

His thoughts exactly. He’d said as much to Colt, though his friend hadn’t been very willing to listen. “It does. And it also makes sense that if you were there and committed the crime, evidence would be found.”

“It doesn’t make sense that I would leave that kind of evidence. That’s much too obvious.”

Hands shaking, Adriana rose from the bale. She appeared nervous, definitely nervous. Brent didn’t take his eyes from her in case he had it all wrong about her and she tried something. That possibility remained.

“I left those items behind in my home in Mexico when I fled. Your surveillance videos are from before I ran, aren’t they?”

She had him there. But he still had a lot of questions. “What about the money and drugs? Where are they?”

“So you’re still unsure of my innocence.”

“Something like that.” Either she was guilty, or she was in trouble and needed protection. Before he could do anything else, he needed to know which was true.

Though she remained wary of him, she grabbed the bucket she’d dropped. Some of the grain had spilled on the ground, but she continued feeding Kiana with what was left in the bucket.

She drew in a deep breath. “Yes, I took the cash and drugs. That’s the biggest reason Rio is hunting me now. Before, he wanted me for my betrayal. There is a penalty for the kind of disloyalty I showed when I saved you. Then he learned about what I’d stolen. A family heirloom. My grandfather’s Rolex. In my panic to escape, I thought I might need leverage. Something for which to trade my life, so I took it because it has a removable back that contained a gold key. That key was to the storage unit with the drugs and cash stores.”

“And we’ve seen the storage unit firsthand. Know that it’s empty. Where did you hide the goods, and why?”

“After I escaped, I realized I could do more than simply hide. I could take my brother and his cartel down—if he couldn’t access all those drugs and cash, the operation of his cartel would be hurt, maybe even collapse. But I had to act fast before he realized I’d taken the Rolex. Before he knew to wait for me at the storage facility. But my plan didn’t work. Even though I got away with emptying the storage shed without getting caught, he’s still in business.”

If she really had believed she could shut her brother down or cripple him by taking one warehouse out of the equation, she could dream on. They wouldn’t have been mortally wounded by her actions. But he admired her determination—that was, if what she said was true.

He swiped a hand over his face. Could she be telling the truth? He had to ask all the right questions, cover all the bases. Not let his own gut feelings or his debt to her cloud his judgment. “I would think the right thing to do would have been to turn the drugs and cash over to law enforcement rather than keep them yourself. Keeping them gives the impression that you stole them to start your own cartel.”

She gave a cynical laugh. “Right, as if I’d ever consider doing a thing like that. I want no part of that life. I want to be free...” She trailed off, as if she would have said more but hadn’t meant to reveal so much, then leaned her forehead against the llama’s neck. “You told me that I’m wanted for the murder of a border agent, which proves I cannot trust you. How could I turn the drugs over to you or any law enforcement? Would they let me go? No. They’d keep me locked away. I have to finish my mission first.”

“To take down your brother.” And then she’d be free, she’d said.

“And I can’t do that behind bars, can I?”

“True enough, but you hid the drugs and money before the border patrol agent was murdered.”

She held her chin high, anger flashing in her gaze. “I’m Rio Garcia’s sister. I couldn’t risk turning the supplies over to the law, who would imprison me, one way or another—whether to use me for their own devices or because they would never believe I’m innocent of any involvement in my brother’s cartel. I will never give up the drugs and cash. Not until I’ve taken down my brother. There is no one I can trust. Tell me I’m wrong!”

Brent sagged. I...can’t.

His grilling her even wore on him. And for some insane reason he couldn’t fathom, he found himself wanting her to trust him, as he’d trusted her two years before. “Look, Adriana... I want to believe you.”

As she gazed into his eyes, he hoped she read the truth of his words there.

Her face softened and she spread out her palms. “Look, it’s Christmas. Inez, the woman I lease this property from, helps me run the ranch, lives with me in the house. We’re family now. We had planned our own small celebration. She doesn’t have anyone, and apparently neither do you. Why else would you be here on Christmas morning?”

He hadn’t taken time off for Christmas in years.

Could he believe that she was innocent and had told him the truth? He’d suspected much of it and had hoped to hear as much from her. But he could very well be blinded to the truth staring him in the face for the simple reason that she’d saved his life before. Any criminal would claim to be innocent.

He wasn’t sure if he could trust his own instincts when it came to Adriana. Though he shouldn’t, he really shouldn’t, he had a soft spot in his heart with her name on it. He buried the thought and focused on his task.

“I haven’t decided what I’m going to do with you yet, even though it’s Christmas.”

A measure of fear flickered in her gaze. “How did you find me?”

“I’ve been receiving anonymous letters that gave me clues. Llamas. That you’re somewhere on the Rio Grande. The last one urged me to find you before your brother catches you.”

She gasped.

“I’ve visited a lot of ranches along the Rio Grande looking for you, including a llama ranch or two. And I had hoped this would be it. When I saw the booby traps, I guessed it could be you.”

“Well, that’s comforting, that I’m so easy to locate.” She rubbed her arms, clearly distressed. “And then you decided you would just accost me in my barn.”

He was a Texas Ranger. A lawman. Why should he be sorry for his actions? But he was. “I had to make sure it was you.”

“And you have. My brother won’t be long behind you.”

“If he’s tracking me, or has his own lead on you. I only found you because of the letters. Who do you think could have sent them?”

Adriana led Kiana to the barn’s exit and urged her outside to the blue skies and sunshine and this beautiful Christmas Day. “I don’t know, which is what worries me most. What else can you tell me?”

“We had the letters analyzed. It’s someone young. Probably female. We believe English is her second language.”

“Rosa...” she whispered.

Who?

Her eyes brightened, lifted to meet his gaze. “It could be Rosa. She was in my brother’s cartel. A low-level drug runner. While I wasn’t part of his cartel, just being his sister, being Adriana Garcia, made me feel dirty. The only thing I could do to feel better about myself was help people. I figured that God had me there for a reason—to help others get out. Rosa was one of those people. I mentored her and tried to help her change her life. Get out of the ugly business, but...”

“But escaping the cartel isn’t so easy,” he added.

Brent saw the truth of it in Adriana’s eyes—she really wanted to be free of her brother. She wanted to be free of her family ties to the cartel. This young woman she’d mentored was proof enough of that.

“How did she ever know where to find me? I can’t believe she sent the letters and has been trying to lead you to me. She must think—”

“That we’re the good guys and we can protect you.” He cut her off, but he didn’t want to risk the conversation taking another direction.