Unbridled. Diana Palmer

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СКАЧАТЬ had tracked him down through the same boy who was Tonio’s friend at San Felipe. Tonio had said that the boy knew the leader of the gang, though, not that he was a member of it. It had been hard work getting Tonio to go home with him. He’d had to promise that he wouldn’t bring any more women home. John was willing to go that far, to ensure his son’s safety. He felt guilty enough already, because his job ate up every waking minute of his time. There was little left for his only child.

      * * *

      But it had been before that when the trouble had started. Tonio had already gotten himself expelled from Jacobsville Middle School by punching a teacher. Since it was the only middle school in the small county, and the principal had recommended expulsion at the hearing shortly thereafter, John had no choice but to enroll him in San Antonio. And because of Tonio’s issues, it needed to be an alternative school. It had the other advantage that if there were problems, either John or his cousin Rosa was nearby during the day.

      The principal at San Felipe also kept an eye on Tonio, as did the school police officer, who was a former colleague of John’s. Sadly, neither of them knew about David Lopez’s Los Diablos Lobitos connection, or his sister’s. David was the only real friend Tonio had besides Jake. But Tonio rarely saw Jake these days. San Felipe was a religious school, but it offered an excellent academic program as well as a soaring soccer program with a winning team. Tonio loved soccer. But he refused to play, because his father had suggested it. Anything John mentioned to his rebellious son was instantly shot down.

      So far, there had been no real issues at San Felipe, except Tonio’s bad attitude and lack of respect for authority figures. Not that he learned that at home. He had discipline as well as love, but he was completely out of hand. Apparently having his father even attempt to date a woman was enough to turn him wild.

      It was so worrying that John had him in the care of a psychologist. But half the time Tonio would sit in the man’s office and refuse to speak for an hour. It was rough.

      “I said, are you coming to the autopsy?” Alice asked.

      “What? Sorry,” he apologized. “My mind drifted off to Tahiti for a brief vacation.” He smiled. “Sure. When?”

      “I’ll have them call your office.”

      “I hate autopsies,” he said, staring down at the boy. “Especially on children.”

      “No more than we do, at the crime unit,” Alice agreed. “I wish kids would stop killing kids.”

      “I wish parents were less distracted by work and the world, and had time to be with their kids more.” John sighed.

      “I take mine camping and fishing and to church every Sunday,” the police officer said with a smile. “So far, we’re doing okay.”

      John nodded. “That’s how it’s done. I used to take my boy fishing, but he lost his taste for it when his mother died.”

      “That’s sad.”

      “She was a good woman,” John replied. “We started dating in high school.” He sighed. “Well, I’ll get back to work. Let me know, about the autopsy.”

      “Sure thing,” Alice said, as she motioned to a colleague to help her put the corpse into a body bag and get it into the van for transport to the crime lab.

      * * *

      John was depressed for the rest of the day. There would almost certainly be a reprisal from Los Serpientes for the slaying of their young gang member. It would be expected. Kids killing kids. Anyone would be depressed.

      It was after dark when he drove down to Jacobsville. The demands of his job kept him away from the ranch a good deal of the time. He had days off, which he tried to spend with Tonio. But his son refused any offers of shared pastimes, staying shut up in his room playing video games. The only good thing about the games were their value in discipline. When Tonio stepped badly out of line, he lost his gaming privileges for a week. He also lost the privilege to visit Jake, his only local friend in Comanche Wells—because Jake had every video game known to man. Not that Tonio saw much of Jake anymore.

      John walked in the door, savoring the smell of chicken à l’orange and roasted potatoes. His housekeeper, Adele, was married to his foreman, and she was a mistress of gourmet cooking.

      “My favorite,” he exclaimed, grinning as he hung up his shepherd’s coat and hat and walked into the dining room.

      “I didn’t know!” Adele said with mock surprise.

      “Where’s Tonio?”

      She made a face and indicated the hallway that led back to the bedrooms, one of which was Tonio’s. The house was huge. It had four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, dining room, kitchen, indoor swimming pool, recreation room and even a set of rooms that were designated for servants in the early days of the twentieth century. San Benito Ranch was over three hundred years old. The present structure had been largely remodeled in the 1990s, while John’s grandfather was still alive. The old gentleman had raised him after the death of his parents in Argentina, where the family raised thoroughbred racehorses. John had lived there until his tenth birthday. After the tragedy, his grandfather assumed responsibility for him and had him brought to America.

      Very few people knew about the great wealth that the Ruiz family had in Argentina, about the yacht that sailed the Atlantic or the incredible herds of cattle that dotted pastures and were overseen by gauchos in the pampas on the sprawling family ranch. A cousin was responsible for the day-to-day operation of it, but it belonged by right of inheritance to John. He and the cousin were best friends, and John had given him a large share in the property—more wealth than the older man would have imagined only years before. It was to the cousin’s credit that he wasn’t greedy. He loved his cousin John and the feeling was mutual.

      Tonio wasn’t privy to that information, about the wealth of the Ruiz family. John had decided just after his birth to keep his family background secret. He didn’t want his son to grow up with a distorted sense of values, least of all in a small community where most people with his Hispanic background had far less. John wanted him to grow up valuing all people, having less respect for things than for other human beings.

      So far, it had worked well. Tonio, while rebellious, had friends who were mostly below the national average in financial wealth. That was when he was in school in Jacobsville, the county seat of Jacobs County. As Tonio’s behavioral problems in school had accelerated, his list of friends dwindled to just Jake. It disturbed John to see the ongoing deterioration of his son’s attitude. He knew that his job was part of the problem; it required him to be away from home often in the course of his duties. But he loved the work he did. He felt that it contributed to the protection of the community he loved. The life of a rich ranchero had never appealed to him. He left the yacht and the aristocracy to his cousin, who loved it. John devoted his time to being a Texas Ranger.

      He tapped on Tonio’s door and opened it. The boy was sitting in front of a wide-screen TV with a gaming controller in his hands. There was a battle going on, in his favorite game, Destiny 2.

      “Supper,” John said curtly.

      “Aw, Dad, I’m in the middle of a—”

      “Damn, Tony, watch what the hell you’re doing! You let that bast—”

      “Hey!” John said shortly.

      There СКАЧАТЬ