He couldnt see her at first
But then he spotted a flash of red near the entrance. The stranger who had stopped her earlier was beside her as they moved quickly towards the door.
Kendall!
Whether she somehow heard him over the roar of the panicked crowd, or whether the force of his gaze drew her attention, Graham didnt know. But at that exact moment she glanced back, her gaze clinging to his and he saw her lips move. Im sorry.
Sorry for what? Graham thought a split second before he found himself pushed back against the wall.
He called out to Kendall, but his voice was lost in the din. Frantic to reach her, Graham tore himself free and fought his way through the terrified mob.
But by the time he reached the door, his wife had vanished.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Graham Hollister When his wife is kidnapped, he uncovers a web of international intrigue, betrayal and a brutal enemy with a terrifying vendetta.
Kendall Hollister A woman with a shrouded past.
Leo Kittering A man who will stop at nothing to avenge his dead son.
Gabriel Esteban He possesses the name of an angel and the soul of a devil.
Hector Reyes A henchman caught between a rock and a hard place.
Michael Barron Grahams best friend has a few secrets of his own.
Terrence Hollister Grahams older brother and bitter rival has a failing business in desperate need of cash.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amanda Stevens is a bestselling author of more than thirty novels of romantic suspense. In addition to being a Romance Writers of America RITA® Award finalist, she is also a recipient of awards for Career Achievement in Romantic/ Mystery and Career Achievement in Romantic/ Suspense from Romantic Times BOOKreviews. She currently resides in Texas. To find out more about past, present and future projects, please visit her website at www.amandastevens.com.
Texas Ransom
AMANDA STEVENS
www.millsandboon.co.uk
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Prologue
A waxing moon rose over the barren countryside as the black SUV bumped along a back road that ran parallel to the border. Two hundred yards away, across the Rio Grande, was Big Bend National Park, a vast terrain of canyons, desert and mountains. A place where a man could stay invisible for days if he needed to.
Leo Kittering sat alone in the back seat and stared straight ahead as the headlights tunneled through the darkness. He glanced back once, made uneasy by their proximity to the border, but the road was clear. Nothing behind them but a swirl of dust that settled slowly in the moonlight.
Kittering turned away from the window. His heart fluttered as adrenaline rushed through his veins. He hadnt felt this exhilarated in years. And with good reason because soon everything would be in place.
The man and womanthey wouldnt know what hit them.
He didnt want to get ahead of himself, though. There was still a lot to be done. Too many things that could yet go wrong. An operation of this magnitude was a delicate balance of careful planning and guesswork.
A part of him wished that he could be there when it all went down, but his time for that kind of work had come and gone. He was no longer a young man or in the best of health. But even if he had still been in his prime, he wouldnt risk crossing the border. If he was spotted and detained by the authorities, the whole plan would be jeopardized.
Besides he didnt need to see their faces at the exact moment they realized their lives were over. He could take just as much satisfaction in the aftermath.
He shifted his considerable weight in the seat and rolled down the window for a breath of fresh air. The man in the front passenger seat glanced over his shoulder. He had a cell phone to his ear, which he lowered for a moment to ask in an anxious voice, Leo, you okay?
The older man grunted, neither confirming nor denying the query.
The vehicle came to a stop, and to his right Leo could see the glitter of moonlight on muddy water. For years, American tourists and Mexican villagers had crossed the river in nearby Boquillas, a loosely enforced class-B port of entry. Leo himself had come over not far from there, but that had been a long time ago. The crossing was officially closed now, although residents of the tiny village continued to go back and forth with their livestock. And often with even more valuable cargo.
Leos mind churned with memories and emotions and with a sudden unease. Theyre not here, he muttered as apprehension fingered down his spine.
Dont worry, theyll show. Theres too much at stake for them not to.
I hope youre right, Kittering thought, his eyes still glued to the water. Because if Gabriel Esteban didnt come soon, somebody would have to pay.
As if reading his mind, Hector Reyesthe man with the cell phoneshot him a worried look. I made the arrangements myself. Theyll show, he said again, as if he, too, needed reassuring.
Kittering closed his eyes for a moment, letting the humid air wash over him. Hed brought L.J. here once, when theyd been on a camping trip in Big Bend. The boy couldnt have been more than seven or eight because theyd still been living in San Antonio at the time. Leo had owned his own business even then, been a well-respected member of the community. Happily married, a settled family man. Then a few risky deals had soured and hed found it necessary to relocate in something of a hurry to Mexico.
His wife, Nina, had refused to come with him. Shed tried to turn L.J. against him, too, but the foolish woman had learned the hard way that you did not keep a father from his only son.
Nina, God rest her soul, had been dead nearly thirty years, and L.J. was gone now, too. But it gave Leo no comfort to imagine that mother and son were reunited in heaven.
The only thing that gave him any pleasure since his sons murder was the promise of revenge. It had been a long time coming. But now the day of reckoning was almost at hand.
What about Houston? he growled. Our contact there can be trusted? Youre certain?
Hector Reyes turned again, his gaze meeting Leos in the dark. He knows the consequences of betrayal. Nothing will go wrong.
An operation like thiswe cant be too careful. Leo sank back into deep thought. He wanted to turn his mind away from the past. He needed to get his head back in the game before the others arrived so that he could be on guard for even the smallest hint of treachery.
Leo had never met Gabriel Esteban, but his violent reputation preceded him. Leo wasnt afraid of very many things or very many men. Not after everything hed seen and done in his sixty-three years on this earth. But the stories hed heard about Gabriel Esteban chilled even his blood.
Doing business with an animal like that
Leo shuddered.
His men were jittery, too, especially Hector, who would accompany Esteban and his crew to Houston. Leo didnt blame Hector for being nervous. He was in a difficult position. If he refused to go with Esteban, he risked Leos wrath. And if Esteban turned on him once they were across the border, Hector would wish that hed never been born. The poor man was caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place.
Leo felt only a slight twinge of guilt over Hectors predicament, even though the younger man had worked for him for years. Hector had started in the organization as a kid, a penniless street urchin whod turned up at Leos front gate one day, demanding a job. Leo had admired the boys bravado and his determination to take care of his family, especially his younger sister, Maria. So Leo had given him the odd job around the estate.
But behind Leos back, Hector and L.J. had become fast friends, and sometime later Leo discovered that the boy had moved into the house. Hed take a room down the hall from L.J.s and had never left, even when Leos son went off to university.
After L.J.s death, Hector had become Leos right-hand man, and eventually Maria had moved into the house, too. Leo thought the world of both Hector and Maria, but still he didnt hesitate to send him on this dangerous mission. Because when all was said and done, blood was still thicker than water.
A movement in the dark caught Leos attention, and his eyes narrowed as he focused on the water. A few yards downstream, a teenage boy crossed the shallow river with a donkey. Leo watched until the boy was out of sight, and then he turned slowly as approaching headlights illuminated the interior of his vehicle.
Thatll be him. Hector glanced nervously over the seat. Are you sure you want to do this? he asked in Spanish. Gabriel Esteban is a very dangerous man. Once you agree to his terms, therell be no turning back.
The driver, who had spoken very little during the drive, cast a wary glance at first Hector and then Leo.
Leo knew what he was thinking. There would be hell to pay for anyone else who dared challenge Leos judgment.
Everyone who worked for Leo knew of his temper. His control had a way of snapping when it was least expected over the seemingly most inconsequential incident. Part of that was by nature and part of it by design. Leo enjoyed seeing the mens fear. It kept them on their toes.
Hed been a little too lax with Hector. That was another reason he was sending him across the border with Esteban. Hector had become too complacent. And that could spell trouble very quickly in their business.
I know what Im doing, Leo snapped. Now, leave me, both of you. I want to speak to Esteban alone.
Hector and the driver climbed out of the vehicle, but they didnt go far. Leo could hear them muttering in Spanish through his open window.
The headlights on the other vehicle went dead, and all at once the darkness of the countryside seemed to envelope Leo. He felt an unfamiliar tightness in his lungs, as if something heavy was pressing against his chest.
Suddenly he couldnt wait to be home, safely ensconced behind the high stucco walls that protected his home from the prying eyes of the federales. In the past five years, since L.J.s death, hed rarely ventured outside those walls. Now he remembered why. After nearly three decades, the Mexican landscape still seemed foreign to him.
A few minutes passed before Leo saw a tall, dark shadow emerge from the other vehicle and walk slowly across the dusty road toward the SUV. The approaching stranger said something to Hector and the driver, and then Leo heard a soft laugh before Gabriel Esteban opened the door and slid onto the backseat beside him.
The interior light had been disengaged, but moonlight flooded through the windows and Leo could see the barest hint of a smile still lingering at the corners of Estebans mouth. His was not a nice smile, more like a vicious smirk. His face was pitted with acne scars and his thick eyebrows rose in points above his dark eyes, giving him a demonic appearance befitting his reputation.
In spite of the physical imperfections, Leo had a feeling that Gabriel Esteban never wanted for female companionship. There was something about him, a perverse charisma that would draw a certain kind of woman like a moth to flame.
Gabriel eyes met Leos in the moonlight and the unpleasant smile deepened. Señor Kittering.
The sound of his voice drove an icy chill straight through Leos heart. He was not a man easily intimidated. Hed operated for too many years on the seamy side of society and had turned a blind eye to the havoc his profession wreaked on innocent lives. Hed arranged the accident that had removed his wife from his sons life, and hed never so much as fingered a rosary in regret.
But now the thought of what Gabriel Esteban would do with Leos money filled his heart with a black, freezing dread. Leo was surely on the road to hell now. He had been for a long time, but now there was no turning back. For what he and Gabriel Esteban had planned, there would be no forgiveness.
Señor Esteban. He said the name with the respectful wariness befitting two powerful rivals who suddenly found themselves co-conspirators in a diabolical scheme.
You have the money?
Leo reached for the laptop on the seat between them. Half will be transferred into your account now, the other half when the job is finished. Just as we agreed.
Gabriel Esteban nodded. Then lets get on with it, shall we?
It took Leo only a few seconds to transfer the funds to the numbered bank account in the Caymans that had been set up for the operation. Once Esteban was satisfied the transaction had gone through, he glanced up. Relax, mi amigo. In a matter of days, we will both have what we want.
Ill relax when the woman is safely across the border.
And the man?
Do whatever is necessary to gain his cooperation. Then kill him.
Esteban grinned as he opened the door and climbed out, then briefly turned to say over his shoulder, Ill be in touch. Have your man ready to leave at a moments notice.
Leo watched him walk back to the other car. The headlights came on, and the vehicle turned, heading down the road in the direction from which it had come.
The front doors of the SUV opened and Hector and the driver got in. Hector glanced at the laptop on the seat beside Leo.
Its done then?
Its done. Leo drew a long breath, settling into the corner of his seat as his gaze went back to the river.