Must Love Horses. Vicki Tharp

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ man stepped in, his boots clapping on the hardwood floors as he removed his hat and stood at the end of the table, his gaze stopping on Sidney. The only thing missing from the scene was the jingle of spurs. “New here?”

      His face was clean shaven, his brown hair wasn’t short, but it wasn’t long either. The ends curled up over the collar of his tan uniform. He was muscular, and a Kevlar vest added to his bulk.

      Sidney stood and offered her hand. “Sidney Teller. I’m the new trainer.”

      His eyes narrowed, almost imperceptibly, like he thought he should know the name but couldn’t place it, then he took her offered hand. It was one of those weak, half-hearted shakes men sometimes give to women. She caught herself before she wiped her hand on her jeans.

      “Elmore St. John,” he said.

      “Can I get you anything? Coffee?” Lottie held up the carafe.

      “Thanks, no.” He fiddled with the brim of his hat, rotating it around and around in front of his body. If he did it any faster, they’d all be hypnotized. “I’ve got a bunch more ranches to stop by today.”

      Dale rubbed the thumb and forefinger of one hand down the sides of the silver mustache bracketing his mouth. “What’s wrong?”

      Bryan stopped with a forkful of eggs halfway to his mouth and eyed Mac for a heavy second. Mac sighed. Again it was as if she and Bryan had a conversation with one quick look.

      “Have any of you heard of El Verdugo?”

      Santos muttered a curse in Spanish. “The Hangman.” His face screwed up at the words like he wanted to spit and clear the foulness from his mouth, only he had better manners than that.

      The hat in St. John’s hands stopped turning and he tossed it on the end of the table. “What do you know about him?”

      “Bad hombre.”

      “What kind of bad?” Mac asked, her eyes flicking to Bryan again.

      “He string a rope around your neck and cut off your air, then right before you pass out he loosens rope. Beats you like a piñata. Over and over and over again until you talk. Everyone talks. I had a cousin in Mexico…” Santos cleared his throat, but he didn’t finish. He didn’t need to.

      Bryan’s fork clattered onto his plate and he wiped his mouth. Lottie held her breath and Dale just looked resigned.

      “What kind of trouble are we talking about?” Dale said.

      “The drug kind of trouble,” St. John said. “El Verdugo makes El Chapo look like the ice cream man.”

      “What does that have to do with us?” Bryan said. “We’re what? Seven hundred, eight hundred miles from the Mexico border?”

      “Yes, but the Lazy S backs up to thousands of acres of BLM land, Forest Service land, and the rest of the Rockies,” the sheriff explained.

      “I guess Fed land is not just for grazing anymore. Uncle Sam not like El Verdugo growing weed on his land?” Santos asked.

      St. John shook his head and the corners of his mouth dipped down. “I wish it were just that. Law enforcement has cracked down on the drug corridor up and down I-15 west of the Rockies and I-80 in southern Wyoming. El Verdugo and his men are finding other ways through, or rather, around the checkpoints.”

      “They’re packing the drugs across the mountains?” Mac asked.

      “There have been reports, indications that they either travel through or have stashes along the mountain range. And weed’s not the half of it. Cocaine, heroin. And, like a good investor, El Verdugo has diversified.”

      “How so?” Bryan said around a bite of fried egg.

      “Human trafficking.”

      Dale cut to the chase. “What does this mean for us?”

      “We hope nothing.” St. John picked up his hat again, stared down at the sheriff’s insignia on the front and said, “We hope they steer clear of our corner of the world, but we want everyone to keep a lookout, to report anything or anyone unusual, to stay safe, vigilant, and above all else, leave the law enforcement to those sworn to uphold the law.”

      That last bit was directed at Mac and Bryan. Mac shifted uncomfortably but held the sheriff’s gaze. Boomer’s mouth went flat and Sidney saw the heat rise in his eyes. What was that all about?

      “We—” Dale started.

      “Just so we’re clear, Sheriff…” Bryan glanced at Dale as if concerned he’d overstepped his place, but Dale nodded for him to continue.

      Bryan didn’t raise his voice, but the sharp steel wrapping his words could slice iron. “We take care of our own at this ranch. We will protect ourselves. With or without or in spite of law enforcement.”

      “Now look here—”

      “I think Boomer made our position clear, St. John,” Dale said, as if he were the sheriff putting his deputy back in his place. “You know our history. You know what happened with your predecessor.”

      Sidney got the impression the sheriff hadn’t needed the reminder. He picked up his hat, palmed the crown, and planted it squarely on his head. “I have worked my a—” St. John caught himself, his lips going flat with the effort to keep what he was going to say tucked inside. “I have worked very hard these past two years rebuilding this department—”

      “No one says you haven’t, son,” Dale said. “But there’s a lot of land out there and very few of you. Even if you are on our side.”

      St. John grimaced and snugged his hat on tighter. He nodded once to the group then turned on his heel and strode out the screen door. The hinges screeched and the frame slapped back against the jamb.

      Sidney glanced around the table. Bryan and Santos tucked back into their food. Mac pushed her half-eaten plate away and kneaded her left shoulder as if she were trying to relieve some pain. Lottie pushed her eggs around like a four-year-old trying to make it look like she was eating. Dale threw back the last of his coffee and swallowed hard.

      “What was that all about?” Sidney asked.

      CHAPTER TWO

      Boomer rubbed at the hair standing up on the back of his neck. Lottie started clearing the half-eaten food from the kitchen table. Dale stood to help. Santos slathered another biscuit with honey, shoved it into his mouth, and vamoosed, leaving Boomer, Mac, and Sidney at the table.

      Nobody jumped to answer Sidney’s question about what had happened with the sheriff.

      “You wanna tell her?” Boomer asked Mac.

      “You’ll have plenty of time to fill her in on your way to Rock Springs.”

      Rock Springs? “Wait. What?”

      “Dale got an earlier appointment at the Wild Horse Holding Facility. At noon.”

      “I СКАЧАТЬ