Wild Borders (24 page)

“With a name like Bull, it wasn’t too sharp, allowing yourself to be called
El Torero
. A matador,” Rick said. “And you left one of your toothpicks at the crime scene with Rios. A DNA test on the saliva on the pick’ll prove you were there.”

Stevens spit out his toothpick and turned the automatic on Rick. “You’d better be shittin’ me.”

It was what Rick had been waiting for—to get Stevens’s gun off Lani.

Rick charged Dominguez, driving him back, back toward Stevens and the gun.

Stevens fired.

Pain exploded in Rick’s arm.

Dominguez slammed to the ground, striking his head. Hard.

Lani screamed.

A hot knife split Rick’s chest. He felt the bullet before he heard that second shot, and then—darkness.

“No!” Lani’s mind whirled.

Rage swept over her, fast and furious. She spun around. “You bastard!” With all the strength she possessed, Lani rammed her knee into Stevens’s groin.

Total shock crossed his features. The gun toppled out of his hand and he dropped to his knees.

“Son of a bitch!” Lani reared back, and as Stevens tried to straighten, she kicked him in the balls again as hard as she could.

The man gasped and collapsed onto his side, curling into a fetal position and whimpering.

Lani kicked Stevens’s gun to the back of the hanger, well beyond his reach. She pulled Rick’s gun from her front pocket and trained it on the rancher as she checked on the other man and saw that he was completely still. She didn’t have the slightest idea how to use the gun, but Stevens wouldn’t know that. She hoped.

Sirens approached as she ran to Rick. “Oh, god!” she sobbed when she saw blood pooling across his shirt and mixing with the mud covering his clothing. “Don’t leave me. Please don’t die. I love you, Rick. I love you so much.”

His eyelids fluttered and his hand clenched hers. “I know, honey.” A weak smile, then his face went slack and he passed out.

She caressed his stubbled cheeks, her lips trembling, hot tears spilling down her face. His skin was clammy. “Damn it, Rick. Don’t you dare die on me!”

Dominguez moaned beside Rick. Lani scrambled to her feet and kicked the man’s gun to the back of the hanger, near Stevens’s weapon. She turned and saw that the rancher still writhed in pain on the floor. She held Rick’s gun with both hands, keeping it pointed toward Stevens.

Lani heard the sirens and the screech of brakes outside the hanger. She checked to see that both Stevens and Dominguez were still down, then threw Rick’s gun to the back of the hanger near the others. She ran to the door and yanked it open and saw police cars and an ambulance crowding the runway.

“Help, please!” she cried to the first officer that approached her. “John Stevens shot Rick McAllister. And there’s another man that held a gun on him. Rick knocked him out, but he’s coming around.”

Officers poured into the building and in moments had cuffed Stevens and Dominguez. When the building was secure, paramedics rushed in and started attending Rick.

Lani turned to follow when Don Mitchell took her by the arm.

“How is he?” Don asked.

She blinked, for a second unable to process his question, then told him what had happened.

She started to shake. “There’s so much blood. He can’t die. He just can’t!”

Don patted Lani’s arm awkwardly, then pulled her to him and she sobbed against his shirt.

“Rick’s one tough
hombre
.” Don rubbed her back like an affectionate father. “He’ll come through.”

Unconsciously Lani clenched the fabric of his shirt—and felt something hard beneath it.

“His vest!” she turned and ran into the hanger.

Rick was lying on the stretcher, his shirt and vest gaping open, the paramedics working on him. An enormous bruise covered the left side of his chest, below his heart.

“He had on his vest.” Her voice quavered and she was dizzy with relief.

Don walked up behind her as one of the police officers came to Lani’s side. “Sure enough did.” The officer nodded toward Rick. “Saved his life.”

“But the blood.” Her knees weakened and she grabbed Don’s arm to keep from falling. “So much blood.”

“From the flesh wound to his arm,” the officer replied as Don pulled Lani against him and held her up. “He’s got a bunch of bruises and he’s lost blood, but other than that, the paramedics think he’ll be fine.”

Lani’s stomach roiled. She tore away from Don, ran outside and vomited. Even after there was nothing left, dry heaves continued to wrack her body.

Lani sprawled in a chair in the hospital’s waiting room, her hair drying but her clothing still damp from rain. She was cold and exhausted, but all she could think about was Rick. She drew the blanket around her shoulders that a nurse had provided earlier, seeking warmth even though nothing would take away the chill of her fear for Rick.

“You need to let a doctor examine you,” Don said as he watched her.

I’m fine.” Her stomach churned again as she inhaled the horrid antiseptic smells, but she was sure there was nothing left in her belly to throw up.

“You’re in shock.” Don stood and started pacing, reminding her of his wife Kitty. “That’s why you’re vomiting and still shaking.”

Lani pulled the blanket tighter around her. She wasn’t about to tell Don the real reason she was throwing up. Maybe shock had something to do with it, but she was pretty sure it had a lot more to do with her pregnancy. Not to mention the hospital’s pea-green walls. They were ugly enough to make anyone puke.

“How did you know where we were?” Lani asked, trying to draw Don’s attention away from her and how she was feeling at the moment.

Don shrugged. “When Rick tore home after you, Sal followed. I’ve had a strange feeling about him lately, so I checked in with Miguel and found out that Sal never called for backup like he said he did. So Miguel called the Sheriff’s Department and also sent out the closest Border Patrol units. They arrived just as Rick’s plane took off.”

Lani shuddered at the mention of the plane, but only nodded.

“Sal had just put down the cell phone when the agents and deputies surrounded him and the other two men. They were all arrested.” Don stared at a framed print of yellow gladiolas. “There was some confusion as to where Rick was landing, or we would’ve arrived sooner. We were misdirected to the wrong airport while you were told to land in Douglas.”

Don sat in a chair across from Lani. “When’s Rick’s family getting home?”

“Late tonight.” Lani said. “They have seats on the last flight out of San Francisco to Tucson.”

A silver-haired woman in a white lab coat came through the double doors into the waiting room and Lani sat up in her chair. “I’m Dr. Taylor,” the woman said. “Are either one of you a family member of Richard McAllister?”

Before Lani could speak, Don said, “This is his fiancé, Lani Stanton. The rest of Rick’s family is out of town.”

Lani blushed as the doctor shook her hand with a firm grip, but didn’t contradict Don. “How’s Rick?”

Dr. Taylor smiled. “He’ll be fine. He lost a lot of blood so we’re going to keep him here a couple of days and then he’ll be able to go home.”

Lani’s head spun and her stomach cramped. She was so relieved that she barely heard the doctor’s explanation of the extent of Rick’s injuries.

“May I see him?” she asked when the doctor finished.

Dr. Taylor nodded and indicated to Lani to follow her. “Only for a few minutes. He needs his rest to help him recover more quickly.”

A humming noise filled her head as the doctor led her into Rick’s room. Her chest tightened when she saw how pale he was. Bandages were wrapped around his upper arm. Bruises covered one side of his face and his eyes were closed.

Her hand trembled as she caressed Rick’s cheek, his stubble rough to her fingertips. He opened his eyes and gave her a weak smile.

“Lani,” he said, his voice hoarse.

“Shhh.” she touched his lips with her finger. “Get some rest, cowboy.” She kissed him and watched him drift off to sleep.

Chapter Twenty

Lani pulled off her glasses and set them on the desk. She was so tired that the words had begun to blur across the screen. After leaving Rick at the hospital last night, Lani hadn’t been able to sleep, too wired after the traumatic experience. Instead, she’d plunged into writing the story of yesterday’s fiasco and sent it off to her editor before midnight.

Theresa had sent Lani a quick e-mail, promising to call. She’d raved over the article, apparently ecstatic over Lani’s involvement in bringing down a notorious smuggler who just happened to be backing a candidate for U.S. Congress. But she’d also expressed her relief that Lani and Rick were both fine.

Of course Montaño had called a press conference, claiming ignorance to Stevens’s activities. But the damage had been done, and it was possible that the mayor’s candidacy for Congress was in jeopardy.

Once she had returned from visiting Rick in the hospital that morning, Lani had thrown herself into her work and finished the last of the interviews by telephone. She had a bit more to do, but it could wait until morning when she could think more clearly. It was now late afternoon and Lani was ready for a nap.

“Telephone,” Sadie said when she peeked into the study. “Your editor.”

“Thanks,” Lani replied with a tired smile as Sadie handed her the cordless. She was definitely due for that nap—she hadn’t even heard the phone ring.

“Hey, Theresa,” she said as she put the receiver to her ear.

“Girlfriend!” Theresa cried. “I wanted to call you first thing this morning, but I was practically held hostage by the boss woman herself. Do you realize that you’re national news? The AP picked up your story and now it’s everywhere.”

Lani gave a tired sigh. “I’ve been too busy to think about it.”

“Are you okay?” Concern came into Theresa’s voice. “I should’ve called this morning, but I figured you must be all right to have written that article only hours after it happened.”

“I’m fine, just tired enough to sleep for a week. Maybe two.”

After they hung up, Lani stared out the window without seeing. Should she risk telling Rick again that she loved him, and if by some chance he loved her in return, should she risk a future with him?

* * * * *

“Done,” Lani said as she e-mailed the last article to Theresa Cortez. She leaned back against the den chair and relaxed.

It was hard to believe that at this time two days ago Sal had betrayed them, Stevens had held them at gunpoint, and that Rick could have died. Her skin chilled and she shivered. No use thinking about that now. It was over and he would be fine.

The house was eerily silent and Lani was home alone. Chuck had headed to Bisbee to buy a new pane of glass for the front door. Sadie had gone to Douglas to run errands and then to see Rick. Trevor was staying home with Lani since he had a cold and they didn’t want to risk Rick catching it.

And if she could work up the courage, Lani planned to tell Rick how she felt when he came home.

Was she making the right choice? Could she do it—could she tell him that she loved him again? And what if he rejected her?

In her heart she knew Rick was the only man she’d ever love. And if there was any chance he loved her, she had to know.

Sighing, she rubbed her belly, trying to imagine what it would look like in a few months. She wouldn’t tell him about the baby—yet. She wouldn’t be able to handle it if Rick insisted that they get married based on his outmoded cowboy sense of honor and duty. If he didn’t want to continue their relationship, she’d wait until after the baby was born. She owed him that much.

Lani wandered around the house that smelled of ham cooking in the crock pot and bread baking in the bread machine. Afternoon sunshine spilled through the windows on the west side of the house, giving everything in the living room a soft glow. To avoid seeing the boarded up pane in the front door, she headed out the back door to the pond.

Monarch butterflies danced over Sadie’s irises, zinnias, and roses. The flowers were a bright splash of purples, oranges, and reds in the midst of all the greenery. The bees’ hum as they gathered pollen was oddly soothing as a warm breeze caressed her skin. She smelled wet earth and moss from the pond.

Roxie barked and hobbled past her to the driveway. The bandage on the dog’s haunch was dusty but bright against her black hair. Lani still couldn’t believe that Roxie had only been shot in the leg. Like Rick, the dog was injured, but she’d be okay.

Trevor came out of the house, smiling and chatting. They spent the afternoon together, Lani following wherever the boy led. Even though he’d been sick earlier, he sure had a lot of energy now. She played with him in his hideout, tossed the ducks grain, helped him feed his potbellied pigs, and pitched a game of horseshoes in the windbreak.

It was almost dark when they finally walked back to the house. Trevor slipped his hand into hers. “I told Dad I wanted to keep you.”

Lani’s heart twisted as she stared down at him. “That was sweet of you.”

He sighed and hung his head. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you that.”

“Oh,” she whispered.

Rick had told his son not to tell her that he wanted her to stay.

Her face felt frozen, her heart numb as they entered the house. “Trevor, I’m not feeling well,” Lani said. “I’m going to lie down for a while.”

“You gonna be okay?” His little face puckered in concern. “You don’t look so good.”

She forced a smile. “I’m tired and need to rest.”

After she kissed his cheek she slipped into the guest room and threw herself onto the bed. She wasn’t going to cry. She was finished with crying about anyone.

Lani turned on her back and stared at the ceiling. The back porch light was on, shining through the leaves of the mulberry bush outside her window. Shadows winked and moved in a collage of light and gray above her.

Her head ached from holding back the tears, but her heart ached more. She felt empty. Hollow. Alone.

She placed her hand on her belly and caressed it. No, she had her baby. The precious life growing inside her. The gift Rick had given her.

Lani found the strength to smile. Everything was going to be all right.