Race to Rescue. Dana Mentink

ropes around her wrists and peeled away the duct tape.

      As he helped her stand on unsteady legs, Booker noticed that Feria was gone. He gathered Anita in his arms and tried to still the violent trembling that shook her body. “It’s okay.”

      She kept her forehead pressed to his chest and he buried his cheek in the soft down of her hair. Thinking about what could have happened made him squeeze her tighter. If he had been moments later…He didn’t allow himself to finish the thought.

      She pulled away and took a shuddery breath. “I got the feeling he might know something about my brother. Who is he?”

      “I only know him by Feria. He’s a drug smuggler, operates caravans of product that come over the border. He routes them through this area to distribution points where the cargo is shipped out.”

      She gaped. “He’s a drug smuggler? How does he know you?”

      Booker let her go and led her to the mouth of the cavern. “You don’t want to know.”

      “Yes, I do. He said you have business. What did he mean by that?”

      “Nothing. Let’s get going.” He switched a flashlight on and stepped into the darkness.

      She grabbed his shoulder. “It’s not nothing. You were talking about some sort of deal with him.”

      He turned to face her. “Yeah, we talked and now you’re safe. If you’d have listened in the first place, none of this would have happened. You can thank me anytime.”

      She leveled a look at him that made him squirm. “You’re not involved with a drug dealer, are you, Booker?”

      The frustration overwhelmed him. “That’s none of your concern. I’m not mining on my property, so your bats are safe. It’s not for you to worry about how I’m managing to make ends meet.” He charged off into the darkness, leaving her to follow.

      Self-righteous, ungrateful, nosy. He grumbled the words under his breath as they walked.

      You’re not involved with a drug dealer, are you, Booker?How had he managed to get in the situation where she would suspect him of it?

      If the Lord didn’t help him find a way out of this mess soon, he’d be the one lost in no-man’s-land.

      SIX

      Anita stayed silent on the drive back to her hotel. Her head was filled with dark images. Her brother lost, Feria standing over her, and fear that Booker was somehow involved with him. Booker’s admonishment was right, of course. His business didn’t concern her, but the fact that he might have gotten caught up with a drug dealer made her insides tremble. Was he that desperate? She decided to find out more about Booker’s ranch if she could.

      His jaw was still set in a stubborn line as he dropped her off and told her what time Search and Rescue would return to the accident site.

      “Got a job to do tomorrow, but I’ll get you a loaner car,” he said as he wrenched open the door and helped her from the truck. “Easier than relying on that rental company.”

      “I’ll be okay.”

      He looked at her, his face softening. “Look, I’m sorry about yelling at you. And I’m glad that everything turned out all right with Feria.”

      She gazed into his eyes, lit by the moon, and saw grief and worry there that she hadn’t noticed before. Had everything turned out all right with Feria? She wasn’t so sure.

      

      True to his word, she found a note from Booker slid under her door the next morning.

      Chevy belongs to a friend. Radio’s busted but she drives okay. B

      She smiled as she climbed in the old truck and headed to the crash site, breathing prayers as she drove. Her nerves grew more agitated with each passing mile. Had they found him? Had her brother crawled away from the crash site and gotten shelter in some rocky crevice? Or had he been too badly injured to survive in the desert? She swallowed hard, thinking about her own near deadly nocturnal encounter.

      Sergeant Williams sipped from a cup of coffee. The temperature was already climbing as the sun unfolded around them.

      “No sign of him yet, Ms. Teel.”

      Anita took a steadying breath. “Sergeant, do you know a man named Feria?”

      William’s eyes narrowed. “Bad dude. Why?”

      Anita told her about their confrontation, leaving out the part about Booker’s strange mention of a business deal.

      Her eyebrows lifted. “You do tend to attract trouble, Ms. Teel. Tires slashed, brother gone and Feria.” She whistled. “I’ll alert Border Patrol. They’ll be interested to know his whereabouts.” She retrieved a clipboard from the car and wrote down Anita’s statement.

      As they were finishing up, a sweaty firefighter in brush gear made his way over to them.

      Anita shot to her feet. “Did you find him?”