I'll Remember You (Hell Yeah!) (8 page)

“His problems are his problems.”

Esteban ignored her and kept on talking. “FARC has demanded he pay a ‘tax’ to protect them from abuse by intermediaries and drug traffickers.”

“The Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias are mercenaries. We can’t be responsible if they strong-arm the Columbians. Here in Mexico, we fight our own battles.”

Keeping calm, making his point, Esteban leaned back in his chair. “Bribery is part and parcel of our business. You are not as aware of this as I am, but we pay off everyone. One of the reasons the government tolerates us is that we pay a higher rate in bribes than we would in taxes. We own the police force, we pay fees to every branch of the military to turn a blind eye. It’s a fact of life for us. Many of the, so-called, hits you put out on our enemies are carried out either by our men dressed in police uniforms or actual cops providing paid assistance. It’s so prevalent that when the government scores a big arrest which makes the papers, the police and military officials pose for the camera in ski masks to protect their identity. In our society, the cops dress like bandits and the bandits dress like cops.”

Martina was bored. “We could find another source. Alvara is not the only game in town.”

“We know him. We trust him.” Esteban paused. “He has a family.”

Martina sat up straighter. “There is no room for sentimentality.”

“I want to do this. We are talking a twenty percent increase.” He jotted down some numbers. “You will make up the difference in other ways.” A frown came over his face. “I am aware of your little side-line business, Martina.”

She knew exactly what he meant. Extortion, kidnapping and human trafficking were the next steps for most operations. “Those girls were rescued off the street. They’ll be well taken care of, with protection, food and a safe place to sleep.”

“While you sell their bodies to the highest bidder.”

Was the look in his eye a warning? She locked gazes with him. “All right, Tío. Give him his twenty-percent.” She rose from her chair. “You can bring him in. I want to talk to him first.” Martina intended to demand faster delivery and the highest quality in exchange for the money.

“One more thing.” Esteban sighed, shaking his head. Martina realized whatever he was about to say was the real reason for the meeting. She waited. He cleared his throat and spoke. “The war with the Toro Cartel is costing many lives, both ours and theirs. Four hundred people were killed in the last two weeks, thirty-four were slain yesterday.”

She knew this. The six charred bodies found along the roadside near Ascension was her doing. “So, what’s your point?”

Setting his mouth in a thin flat line, Esteban persisted in his argument. “We need to find a solution, stop the bloodshed. There has been an offer.”

“What kind of offer?” Where was this coming from? She did not like to be last to receive information.

“Javier Rios wishes to join our two families in alianza de sangre.”

Alliance of blood? He was speaking of a dynastic marriage, a marriage to make peace. Fury flashed over her. “You wish me to marry Joaquin Rios? To sacrifice myself for the sake of sparing unrest?” She was the Diosa. He was second-in-command. The audacity of his request almost caused Martina to attack her uncle with claws unsheathed. It was out of the question. She would not lower herself to marry that sniveling weakling to procure any kind of peace with the enemy. Her priority was Aron McCoy. Already she was planning their marriage and no one, no one would get in her way. “Never!” She threw the word at her uncle like a grenade.

“Not you, Diosa.” The words were quiet amid her turmoil.

“What?” She whirled around to stare at her uncle.

“Alessandra.”

***

Los Banos Ranch

“Hello, my name is Alessandra.”

“My pleasure.” Austin tipped his hat to the pretty señorita. “They tell me my name is Austin Wade.” Talk about night and day. Where Martina was aristocratic, elegant and self-assured, her little sister was easy-going, sweet and soft-spoken. They were both beautiful, but Alessandra was warm and made him smile.

“Oh, we’ve met.” She led her horse out of the stall. No elaboration.

Tomas led two other mounts to the rear of the barn. “Here you go, Austin. Let’s check out my herd.” The horses were magnificent. He could tell they were pure bred Arabians, sleek and eager to be given free rein. They wanted to run. Just being near the animals made him feel good. Placing one booted foot in the stirrup, he lifted himself into the saddle. Yes, this was familiar. He knew horses. The clothes he wore didn’t feel exactly right. Everything was stiff and new. He wondered where his old clothes were. Austin had a sense that he preferred broke-in boots, well-worn jeans and cotton T-shirts. Soon, he and Miss Martina were going to have to have a long talk. He could smell manure in this situation.

“Coming with us, querida?”

His daughter smiled at the endearment. “No, Padre.” She drained a bottle of water and pushed her hair over her shoulder. “I…” She looked around her. “I just wanted to take a walk.”

Hmmm, Austin thought. A walk. Right. That girl was doing more than walking. He’d bet his left nut she was meeting somebody. Oh, well. It was none of his affair.

Riding high in an exquisite Mexican saddle covered in fine silver, Austin wondered at his life. For all extents and purposes, he appeared to be a kept man. And that wasn’t his style. He didn’t have to have a memory to know that much about himself. Austin Wade was used to earning his keep, paying his own way and staying busy. From what he could gather, his fiancé expected him to earn his keep by becoming Mr. Martina Delgado and he had news for her, that shit wasn’t gonna fly.

“Tell me about your daughter.” Austin surveyed his surroundings. The land really was beautiful. The Sierra Madre mountains rose high in the distance.

Tomas chuckled as he led them away from the barn and out into the open pasture. “She’s a gentle flower.”

Austin snorted. Obviously he wasn’t talking about Martina. “The other one.”

This time Tomas laughed. “Ah, my iron maiden, doncella de hierro, she was such a headstrong little girl. And a much more headstrong woman.”

“Tell me about our relationship.” Austin knew he was pushing the envelope, but he needed to know.

“That I cannot do, mi amigo.”    

Tomas was choosing to stay out of the situation and Austin couldn’t really blame him, so he changed the subject. “How many acres do you have?”

A look of relief passed over the old man’s face. “There are twenty-four thousand acres, although if the rough terrain were flattened out, the amount of land would increase three fold.” Austin could hear the pride in his voice.

They rode across the grazing pastures and he admired the cattle, a breed descended from the original Spanish animals brought to the Americas in the fifteenth century. “They’re closely related to the Longhorn, you know. I raise Longhorns.” As soon as he spoke the words, he reined the horse in. He bred Longhorn cattle. He had remembered something! Tomas met his gaze and he gave him a small, mysterious smile.

Ssssss Ssssss     

Austin’s horse reared. He clasped his knees, holding on to the reins, striving to stay in the saddle. The stallion bucked backward and then danced sideways.

“Rattlesnake!” Tomas yelled.

Austin looked down in time to see the large snake strike out at the legs of the horse.

Pop! Pop!

Tomas had pulled out a pistol and shot the snake. “I detest those things!”

Austin calmed his horse and looked at the dead serpent. “Yea, so does…” Another name danced on his lips, but he couldn’t quite find it in his memory.

“What did you say?” Tomas asked. “You’re remembering, aren’t you?”

Austin didn’t say anything else. He couldn’t see her face, and he didn’t know her name, but there was definitely a woman in his life—somewhere. And it wasn’t Martina Delgado.

Over the next few days, Austin struggled with his identity. He was striving to make sense of the world he was a part of and the past he had lost. Giving up wasn’t an option. He was still game to figure out the answers. Over and over again he had questioned Martina about their past, how they met, about the day he was injured. Her answers didn’t change, but he could tell she was becoming frustrated with him. He didn’t care. Shadows tangled and twisted together in his brain. Sometimes he felt like he was watching an old film in his head and the images were running through his mind on fast-forward, they raced too fast for him to see them clearly.

And the dreams.

Deep in the night, he would dream of her. A clear image of her eluded him. But he could feel her in his arms and she was heaven to hold. When he would awaken, his arms were so empty and he longed for her with every fiber of his being.

Martina had come to his bed twice more, and twice he had turned her away. The last time they had argued. She demanded to share his bed, saying she wore his ring. He wanted to ask her to remove it, but something told him to play it slow. Until he had answers, he needed to keep things status quo. But he was running out of excuses. First he’d told her he was weak and now the excuse he was using was that he wanted to remember her, he needed to remember loving her. This request just seemed to make her more furious. 

Now here he was, seated at the table. While eating with Martina, her father and her sister, he could almost see and hear another family. He had brothers, a large family of brothers, one that laughed and shared and roughhoused good-naturedly. Somewhere there were people who missed him, who cared for him. He could feel it.

“Austin?”

“Austin?”

He jerked his head up. “I’m sorry. I was lost in thought. What did you say?” He looked at the face of each one of the Delgados. They were dressed for dinner, a handsome Hispanic family, eating classic dishes, served by impeccably dressed help, and living in a mansion without a want or care of any kind.

And he, he didn’t belong here. This was not his home. Home was…

“Did you remember something?”

Everyone at the table tensed. Austin paused, considering his answer. He hadn’t remembered anything specific, nothing concrete. All of it was more feeling than anything else. And dreams. “No, I didn’t remember anything.” At least nothing he was willing to admit to her.

“Are you sure?” Everyone was so quiet. All eyes were focused on him.

“I’m sure.” Especially considering the fact she was looking at him with the coldest eyes he’d ever seen. Austin realized he was being warned. Without words, Martina was warning him.     

“Diosa! Diosa!” A man came running in.

“What is it?” Martina rose. It still confused Austin why everyone answered to Martina instead of Tomas.

“They have captured people, men who were crossing over Los Banos. Come quickly!”

“Toro?” she asked. Tomas groaned and threw his napkin down.

What was Toro? Austin wondered.

“I do not know.” Her employee was panting with exertion.

Martina walked calmly to the buffet, opened a drawer and took out a pistol, a 9mm Beretta. “Let’s go.”

Austin jumped up to accompany her. He didn’t feel possessive of her, as he should. But she was a female in a house in which he was a guest. And he was not a man who sat back and let the females in his household defend him. 

When they made their way outside to the front of the house, there were six armed guards standing in a half moon shape. All of them were brandishing AK47’s. Where had they come from? He was used to seeing a couple of bodyguards, but this looked more like a SWAT team. And why in the world were they carrying automatic weapons? Back in Texas everyone had a deer rifle. But a machine gun?

Texas…well, hell. He was from Texas! Not damn Wyoming.

Another seed of distrust planted itself in Austin’s mind as he watched Martina march out to confront the trespassers. She was lying to him. Why?

Tomas and Alessandra came to stand alongside him and Martina. When one of the bodyguards herded eight men into their midst, all with their hands over their head, Austin couldn’t help but react. He grabbed Martina’s arm. “What’s going on?”

“It will be all right.” She reassured him. “This happens frequently.”

The scene was surreal. He felt like he was watching an old spaghetti western or something. The men were like captured bandits, headed for the gallows. Austin could tell they were tired, thirsty and hungry. Two of them looked ready to collapse. After a few seconds though, he understood. He could pick up a smattering of their conversation. These men had been headed for the border when they had, unluckily, crossed Delgado land.

“We’re sorry, Señorita. We were just meeting our coyote.” 

“Stupid! You should have checked a map.” She sauntered out toward them. “How dare you come onto Los Banos?”

One hung his head. “El Duro. Diosa.”

“Are you Toro?” Martina poked the pistol in one man’s cheek.

“No, Señorita,” he whispered. “We are not Toro.”

“Did you check them for weapons or explosives?” She addressed her employee.

“Yes, Diosa,” another man spoke up. “They were clean.”

“What should I do with you?” Her question was soft, but he watched the men who heard her speak, visibly shudder.

Austin frowned. “Martina,” he called her name, softly. She ignored him.

“Where are you headed?” she asked, instead. 

“America.” One was brave enough to say.

“Where in America? Who are you working for?”

“No one. We go to meet our families,” the younger one spoke, pleading with his eyes. “My wife and young son are in Texas. We will work for you, if you give us a chance.” 

“Who sent you?” she demanded again, ignoring the man’s question.

“No one sent us. No one,” another wailed. “We would not cross you.”

“Get rid of them!” She waved her weapon in the air.

“Martina!” Tomas shouted. There was true fear in his voice and Austin realized it was fear for the lives of those men, and not for himself.

She nodded her head as she passed a silent message to her guards. They took their assault weapons and pushed the men around to the side of the house. Austin braced himself, almost expecting to hear gunfire. Instead in a few moments, he saw a truck pass by with all the men loaded in the back, accompanied by two of the guards, still carrying their huge guns.